The Secret Princess
by wildchild17
Summary: Morgana is alone and now she has another secret to hide...will it be the undoing of Camelot? Life is flourishing in the city, but when the truth comes out and the battle begins, will good or evil come out on top? Reveal fic NO SLASH no pairings either :D
1. Prologue

**A/N: My first ever fanfic so please be nice! This story takes places between series 4 and series 5, so Arthur doesn't know about Merlin's magic… yet! Plz review :D**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, no matter how much I wish it was, Merlin is not mine.**

The Secret Princess

Prologue

In the dream, Morgana was alone. Her secret had grown too big for her to hide and it weighed her down like she had never imagined was possible. Her whole body was heavy; everything was an effort. She barely moved except to find a little food and relieve herself.

Then the dream changed. Morgana was still alone but this time she was in pain. She screamed as the agony ripped through her like fire, but deep inside her she knew it would be worth it in the end… she just wished she could remember why. She wanted desperately to curl into a ball and sob but she couldn't – her body wouldn't let her. She moaned again as the pain engulfed her. It seemed endless. Then, for just a moment, Morgana heard a shrill sound break through the air and she felt perfect joy ripple through her like a wave of sunlight –

And then she woke up. It was cold and the sky was still dark. Morgana shivered with the unpleasant realization that the dream had not been a dream. She had been having visions like this ever since she was a small girl and she had been unable to do anything except beg for a sleeping draught from Gaius, the court physician of Camelot. Until her sister Morgause – Morgana's heart twinged with pain at that thought – had given her a healing bracelet of the Old Religion which kept all but the strongest visions at bay. Sighing, Morgana dropped a hand to her stomach and caressed the small bump there gently. It had been a mistake to do what she had done, but there was little she could change about it now. And despite herself, Morgana had grown to love the child inside her. _A little prince or princess of Camelot, _she thought with a smile. Such a child would be a useful weapon against her brother and his serving girl queen – she was sure, if she did things right, her child could help her to gain the throne of Camelot for herself as she rightfully deserved. _But still…_ Part of her regretted that moment of weakness. She had been so alone and broken when the young druid man had found her in the forest. She had cried in his arms and he had stroked her hair gently, not speaking, just waiting and ready to listen. She had been sure he knew who she was and what she had done, but all she felt from him was comfort. Then, one thing had led to another, and that night… Well. Anyway. When she awoke, he was gone, and it was not until a few weeks later that she realized what had happened. With another sigh of regret for times gone by, Morgana rose and left the cave where she now lived, walking out to greet the dawn.

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><p>Many months later, both visions had come true. Morgana lay on the dusty floor of the cave crying with pain. Pain that clouded her thoughts and misted her vision. It seemed endless. And then, a shrill sound broke through the air and Morgana felt perfect joy ripple through her body like a wave of sunlight – that was the only way she could describe it. Reaching downwards, she gathered the tiny child in her arms. <em>A girl, <em>she thought, the first smile of months breaking over her features. _The secret princess of Camelot._ Reaching sideways, she wrapped her daughter in a roll of cloth that she had bought a few weeks ago.

"Welcome to the world, daughter," she whispered, then a frown crossed her face. _A name. She needs a name._ After a second's thought she smiled again, and raised the little girl to see the sunrise for the first time. "Faye. I name you Faye."

**A/N: Once again, please review! Should I carry on? What do you think? Please tell me! :D**


	2. Chapter One

**A/N: Here's the first chapter hope u like it! Btw just so everyone's clear Faye's father is NOT Merlin – that's why I put no pairings on the summary – but there will be more about him (her father) if you read on :D Thankyou for all the reviews, story alerts and favourites, plz keep telling me what you think!**

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><p><span>Chapter One<span>

For a few short weeks, Morgana was happy. She was filled with the joys of motherhood; joys that even she could not have predicted having a child would bring.

But then dissatisfaction began to creep into Morgana's heart again. Yes, she had Faye now, and the little girl was surprisingly quiet and happy. She smiled and gurgled and rarely cried, but she was always so _hungry._ Morgana had barely slept since that summer day when her daughter was born, and she blamed Faye for that. And yet, at the same time, she loved the child hopelessly and with all her heart, and Morgana knew that she had weakened herself, because she was no longer the most dangerous kind of enemy – someone with nothing and no-one to lose. Morgana knew that if any kind of danger presented itself, she would gladly fight to the death to protect her little daughter, and that wasn't a good position to be in. So she began to search for a plan. Every waking hour she had was spent thinking, plotting, tirelessly planning ways to use Faye to bring about Camelot's demise. Because Morgana was now certain that this was the only way that she could gain her rightful throne – or that her daughter could. She regretted using the girl as a tool, as any mother would, but she knew that as a princess of Camelot, Faye had every right to the throne. If Arthur was dead, then there would only be two heirs left – Morgana and Faye.

So that was how it would have to be.

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><p>In Camelot, during the years that Faye was growing up in the forest with her mother, Merlin was beginning to feel increasingly nervous. He couldn't seem to put his finger on quite <em>why <em>he was so edgy, but he was sure it was something to do with Morgana. So little had happened since that day when she had disappeared from under the rubble of the fallen down ceiling - too little. It was too quiet. Merlin had been sure that Morgana would have come up with some kind of plan to try and destroy Camelot by now… unless she was dead. Much to his shame, his heart still twinged uncomfortably at that thought, and he knew that he did not really want her dead. He just wished she would leave Camelot and, more specifically, Arthur, alone.

But he knew that while alive, Morgana would never do that. She wanted the throne too much; she was too full of bitterness and anger to just let go. Eventually, Merlin decided he would make a visit to the druids. This was something he did not like doing too regularly – the way they bowed to him and stared at him like he was some kind of hero made him uncomfortable. But this time it could not be avoided.

A few days later, Merlin stood at the edge of the druid camp wondering how he could enter without drawing too much attention to himself and still find his way to the elders. Just as he had decided to walk in and ask someone where to go, a young man seemed to appear out of thin air beside him. _How do they _do _that?_ wondered Merlin. The man looked at him with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Emrys. Or… what do they call you in Camelot?" he asked. Merlin immediately felt more comfortable with him than he ever had with the other druids – just that simple question put him at ease.

"Merlin," he replied with an easy smile. "And you?"

"Joseah."

"I was wondering could you show me the way to your elders? There is something I wish to ask them," Merlin asked as the pair walked into the camp.

"Of course. What is it that brings you here, then, Merlin?"

Glancing about him cautiously, Merlin murmured quietly, "Morgana."

Joseah's reaction startled him. The young druid sucked his breath in sharply and glanced quickly at Merlin before looking away and then down at the ground. _Somebody's got a secret to hide,_ thought the warlock.

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><p><strong>AN: Please review! More reviews mean more writing! :D probably no more uploads for a few days as I'm going away for the weekend, sorry… I'll try and get the next chapter done as soon as I can!**


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N: I've writing like mad even though I know I said it would be a while for the next update, so here's the next chapter! Enjoy :D**

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><p><strong><em>Previously...<em>**

_The young druid sucked his breath in sharply and glanced quickly at Merlin before looking away and then down at the ground._

_Somebody's got a secret to hide, thought the warlock._

Joseah looked up again and his eyes were hard. "We have heard nothing of the witch. She has not been seen anywhere near here." They continued in an awkward silence for the next few minutes as Joseah lead Merlin through the camp, finally stopping outside a larger, more permanent-looking dwelling. "Here," he said abruptly, turning away. Merlin shook his head in puzzlement. He just didn't get druids – one moment they were friendly and chatty and then suddenly, for no apparent reason, they started acting like you had done something awful to them.

"Emrys." A deep, gravelly voice tore Merlin away from his thoughts. He looked up to see a tall, white-bearded man standing in the opening to the tent. "We were waiting for you." He moved aside to let Merlin enter. Inside, three more elderly men and one younger woman sat on small mats on the floor in a circle. They smiled at Merlin and said with eerie synchronisation, "Welcome, Emrys."

Trying not to be put off, Merlin forced a smile in return and sat down on the floor with them. For a while, nobody spoke. Just as Merlin was about to explain why he had come, the woman began to speak.

"We know why you are here, Emrys. You do not need to tell us. You have come to seek news of the witch, Morgana. My name is Anaya and my friends are Solim, Vasr and Keron, and we were talking with our minds." She pointed them out as she said their names.

The druid who had shown me into the tent, who Merlin now knew to be called Vasr, took up the conversation. "We are sorry, Emrys, we know it was rude of us but we had to decide how much information to give you."

"We have much knowledge, but it cannot all become known to you yet," finished Keron. Solim remained silent and simply stared at Merlin with the appearance of being completely bored by the proceedings.

Doing is best to ignore Solim's gaze, Merlin nodded. "Right. Well, that's… fine but… what are you actually going to tell me?"

The four elders glanced at each other. Solim sighed and shook his head. Not for the first time, Merlin wished he could hear what the druids were saying to each other.

Again, it was Anaya who broke the silence. "The witch lives, Emrys. She was healed of a mortal injury by the dragon Aithusa and she is now living in the forests to the west of Camelot, a day's walk from here."

"And do you know what she's doing? Has she seemed to be readying herself to make an attack on Camelot?" Merlin asked. He resisted the urge to sigh in annoyance as the elders looked at each other yet again.

"She has not done anything… yet," Keron told him.

"But you think she will."

"You should be careful, Emrys. The witch has always been very over-confident that her plans will work before now – she has not tried to hide what she is doing. Now, without her sister, she has been forced to adopt a more… subtle approach," Vasr warned.

_Why do they have to talk in riddles? _Merlin thought in frustration. Out loud, he said, "Couldn't you tell me what this 'subtle approach' is?" he asked, trying to keep him voice level.

For a moment, it was quiet. Then, finally, Solim spoke. "To do so..." His voice was old and slow and hoarse with age. "To do so would put one of our own in danger. This we will not do." Looking more closely, Merlin could see that Solim was by far the oldest of the five of them, and the other three druids were listening to him with expressions of almost comical adoration on their faces. It made Merlin want to laugh but he held it in.

"Okay, well, thank you. I think… I think I need to go now," he got slowly to his feet.

"Oh, Emrys, it is dark now. Why don't you stay here for the night and go back to Camelot in the morning?" Anaya asked with a smile.

To both their surprise, before Merlin could reply, a croaky, hoarse chuckle came from behind them and they turned to see Solim looking up at them. "Emrys will not stay, Anaya. You should know better than to try and make him. He is far too loyal to leave his king alone for even a night, and with good reason, for the king is woefully ignorant on a great number of subjects." Judging by the looks on the other elders faces, this was just about the longest speech Solim had ever made. Chuckling to himself, Merlin nodded to them all, and left the tent with a grin on his face.

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><p>In the cave where Morgana had made a home for herself, Faye was growing up quickly. She was almost seven years old now, and Morgana knew that it was time to teach the girl to use magic. She was sure Faye had magic, not least because of her parentage, but also because she had caught a glimpse of her green eyes flashing gold on various occasions, so that wasn't a problem. The problem was actually Morgana herself. She couldn't seem to bring herself to commit to teaching Faye to use her magic. Partly she didn't want her daughter to be persecuted for her skills as she had been, but the real reason, although she was reluctant to admit it even to herself, was that she was selfish. She wanted to keep the magic to herself. You might wonder how a mother could possibly want to keep anything from her child, unless it was dangerous, and yet that was how Morgana felt in her heart. Eventually though, the day came when it was obvious that the time had come for Morgana to teach Faye, not only how to use magic, but to control it.<p>

It was Faye's birthday, Midsummer's Eve, and Morgana had taken her daughter to a place she had found long ago. It was high up on a cliff; an almost perfectly round clearing surrounded by silver birch trees. Their bark seemed to glow in the moonlight which shone directly down into the clearing. The stars glittered mysteriously on the midnight blue sky.

"I come here when I need to think," Morgana told her daughter quietly, and then was shocked that she had let her emotions show so easily.

"It's beautiful," Faye whispered. She was happy and excited and surprised all at once that her mother had shared something so personal with her. Normally she was a very secretive sort of person.

They stood for a few moments longer there, then Morgana shifted and said abruptly, "Come on, Faye, it's time to go."

"Oh, please, can't we stay just a little longer? I love it here. It's so peaceful." Faye lay down on the grass and closed her eyes dreamily.

"No, Faye! Come on, please. Now."

The girl opened her green eyes and stared balefully at her mother. "No."

"Faye." Morgana said warningly. "Don't make me drag you home. Don't spoil it, it's your birthday."

"No."

"Faye—"

"No!" Suddenly Morgana felt herself fly through the air and smash into the top of a tree. The branches were only thin, so she wasn't hurt except for a few scratches, but it was the shock more than anything that caused her to lie stunned on the ground for a few seconds.

"Mother?" she heard an anxious little voice call. Footsteps, pattering on the fallen leaves. Then a hand on her shoulder. "Mother!"

Morgana sat up with a slightly forced smile. She felt bruised all over. "I'm fine, Faye… but I think it's time I taught you something about magic."

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><p><strong>AN: So, what do you think? Good, bad? I'm happier with this chapter than I was with the last one, it's a bit longer which I think is good :D please review I need some encouragement here :P**


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: I'm doing my best to write more but I have got so much homework to do it's unbelievable! I will try to post a chapter a week if I can though :D btw just in case anyone is wondering Faye is now 9 years old. And also, in my world, Lancelot didn't die or come back as wraith thingy and nothing happened between Gwen and him. Sorry but I just love his character so much that I couldn't get rid of him. Please review!**

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><p>It was twilight. Morgana and Faye sat opposite each other in the clearing that they had visited the day before. Faye was once again transfixed by the sheer beauty of the place, and she was content to simply gaze around as she waited for her mother to speak. They had come for her first lesson in magic, but Faye had a feeling that she was going to hear about a lot more than just that.<p>

"Once," Morgana spoke at last, and her voice was full of hopeless longing and tinged with regret. Faye sat up straighter. "Once, I was a lady of Camelot. I lived in the beautiful white castle in the city. I remember when I first came there. I was only a girl, the same age as you are now, and my father was dead. I was so miserable – unhappy to have been left all alone by my father and mother, angry at Uther for making me come to Camelot to live with him. He had promised my father that if anything ever happened to him he would care for me as his own child." She laughed bitterly. "How true that turned out to be. Uther was my father, though I did not know it for many years, and he should never have kept it a secret for me. But by the time I knew, I had found my dear sister, Morgause." Morgana looked away, but Faye still saw the pain in her eyes. "She is gone now, sacrificed herself to overthrow the kingdom of Camelot. As you can see, it did not work."

Faye frowned slightly. _Why did she die for something that was going to fail? _She wondered.  
>"I will tell you everything that happened every day in Camelot, but tonight I can only give you a little information. Around the same time I found Morgause, I discovered my magic." A small smile curved Morgana's lips. "I was young and weak, and I could not control my power. I once woke from a nightmare and accidentally set the curtains on fire."<p>

Faye grinned, and then remembered that she couldn't keep her magic under control either. The smile faded from her face.

"Many people live in Camelot, but most importantly, there is a man named Merlin. He is my brother Arthur's manservant and he—"

"Wait," Faye interrupted. "I thought you said that Arthur was the king of Camelot?"

"Yes, of course he is, unfortunately," Morgana muttered.

"But that means…" Faye was breathless, her mind racing through the possibilities. "That means, Faye, that you are a princess," Morgana spoke softly, reaching out to stroke her daughter's midnight black hair. The girl's green eyes shone with delight.

"_I'm _a princess? Really? Are you sure?"

Morgana raised her eyebrows. "Of course I'm sure. I hadn't meant to tell you this yet, Faye, but one day, you will be queen. I will make sure of it. Together we can rule this land, and we will bring magic out from it's sleep to reign in the kingdom again!"

Faye's pretty face broke into a huge smile. _Queen,_ she thought. _I'm going to be a queen!_

Morgana and Faye talked for many hours about magic and Camelot in the glade that night, but as it was, Morgana never told her daughter about the man name Merlin and what he had done to her. Faye would learn of him eventually, but at the wrong time, and, as usual, it would be Merlin who was the downfall of all Morgana's careful planning.

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><p><em>Six and a half weeks later<em>

Merlin pushed open the door to the king and queen's chambers and marched in, intending to collect their dirty laundry, but then realized that Gwen and Arthur were standing close together in the corner of the room. They were staring at each other intensely but did not appear to be speaking.

"Sorry," Merlin said pointedly. "Am I interrupting something?" Neither of them moved. He raised his eyebrows at the two people he would probably have called his best friends if asked, and continued around the room, picking up the various items of clothing strewn about. Funnily enough, it was Arthur's clothes that were everywhere – Gwen's were piled neatly on the floor waiting for him to take them. He was about to leave when Arthur seemed to come to life.

"Merlin? What are you doing?" he actually sounded quite puzzled. Clearly, he had not even been aware that his manservant was in the room. For answer, Merlin held up his basket of clothes and nodded to him. As he walked out, he thought he heard the words "Can he know?" and "Tell him", and then a voice called him back.

"Merlin. Wait."

He stuck his head back in the room. Gwen and Arthur were now standing by the door, holding hands. The king looked at Gwen, and Merlin saw a whole conversation pass between them, but what they might have been saying, he had no idea.

"Merlin," Gwen stepped forward and her brown eyes locked onto the blue. "There is… something… we want to tell you, but it needs to remain private. Can you keep a secret?" This seemed such a childish question that Merlin wanted to laugh, not least because he had been keeping the one thing that mattered to him most a secret since he first came to Camelot. Gwen and Arthur were watching him; she hopeful; he sceptical.

"Yes," Merlin told her. "I can. So what is it?"

For answer Gwen simply dropped a hand to her stomach. Which, Merlin belatedly noticed, was rather larger than usual. His eyes widened.

"You're—" he gasped, before Arthur clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut _up_, Merlin, you idiot. Don't you understand the meaning of a secret?" Merlin nodded and Arthur slowly released him. His face split into a huge grin.

"I am so happy for you. Both of you!" he told them quietly, looking at Gwen. "Congratulations! So when are you going to… you know, tell everyone?"

Gwen smiled too, apparently in relief. "Soon," she said. "I can't really hide it for all that long but there will be an announcement to everyone in the castle in a few weeks time, and I'm sure it won't be long after that before the whole city knows!" She giggled excitedly in a very un-Gwen-ish manner. "I still can't quite believe it. I only realized this morning. It just hit me."

"What I want to know," Arthur complained, although Merlin knew him well enough to see the joy in his eyes. "Is why you didn't tell me as soon as you realized!"

"If I'd told you this morning, you would never have been able to concentrate on all your kingly duties for the day," Gwen laughed.

"True. I would have been thinking about you and our little baby all the time!" he sounded so happy when he said those three words that it made Merlin want to hug him, but he didn't think Arthur would appreciate that. As the king and queen began to whisper quietly to each other, he slipped away with a smile.

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><p><em>Nine months later<em>

The hallway outside the king's chambers was crowded. _Very_ crowded. Merlin sighed and leaned back against the wall next to the door. Sir Leon, Sir Gwaine, Sir Percival, Sir Elyan, Sir Lancelot… as well as a load more knights that Merlin barely recognised and a handful of women who were Gwen's friends.

"Bored yet?" asked Lancelot, sliding down the wall to sit next to him.

"Not really. I just wish I could…you know, help." Merlin looked at his friend meaningfully and the knight nodded.

"I know. So do I, although it's not as if I have any talents that would really help in _this_ kind of situation. I wish—" Just as he was about to speak, the door banged open and Merlin leapt to his feet. Arthur ran out, smiling wider than Merlin had ever seen him before.

To the servant's utter shock, the king grabbed him into a huge hug, shouting gleefully, "Twins! A boy and a girl!" Everyone cheered. Releasing Merlin, Arthur stared around, looking startled to find so many people there.

"I think that's the first time you've hugged me since I came to Camelot," Merlin informed him, smirking slightly at his friend's expression. "Congratulations, Arthur!"

"Named them yet?" someone asked.

"The girl is called Clara and the boy is called Amhar," the grinning king announced proudly. "Luckily, Amhar was born first, so there'll be no trouble with who is the rightful heir or anything. Come!" he cried. "Let the celebrations begin!"

Merlin grinned as the crowd of laughing and talking people moved off down the corridor. He waited until they were out of sight and knocked on the door.

"Gwen? Can I come in?"

"Merlin! Of course you can," came the reply. Merlin entered to see Gwen lying in the bed looking absolutely exhausted, but smiling. In her arms was a tiny child. Merlin hovered nervously by the bed, uncertain what to do. He had wanted to make sure Gwen was alright, but now confronted by the idea of small children he was fighting the urge to run out of the room screaming. Making it easier for him, Gwen patted the bed beside her and he sat down gently.

"So, how are you?" Merlin asked.

"I'm okay, just tired, that's all," she replied. "These two were a long time in coming!"

Merlin leaned forwards and squinted at the baby's face. "Is this… er…?"

"This is Clara. Amhar is over there, in the cradle. You can hold him if you like." Gwen smiled, full of the happiness of a newly made mother, and Merlin forced himself to smile back, wondering how to get out of this one. Gwen burst out laughing.

"It's okay, Merlin," she grinned. "You don't have to. I guess you're just not a baby kind of person, huh?"

"Yeah," he smiled in relief, glad that she understood. "Look, I'd better go, Arthur will be wanting me to run round after him."

"Of course," the queen smiled again, suddenly looking even more tired. "I'm sorry to ask, but you wouldn't mind putting Clara back in her cradle, would you? I just really need some sleep."

"Okay," Merlin nodded apprehensively. Taking the tiny child in his arms, he tried to move across the room as smoothly and quickly as he could and placed the little girl in her bed. Behind him, Gwen chuckled sleepily.

"You look funny when you walk like that…"

He smiled and slipped out the door.

"Congratulations, Gwen," he whispered quietly. "Albion just got a whole lot better."

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><p><strong>AN: So, what do you think? I think I like this chapter quite a lot, things are finally starting to happen. Just to warn you, there are going to be a couple of time jumps in the next few chapters (I think). I will post as soon as I can.**

**Please review! If you don't then I won't know whether to carry on or not!**


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: Okay, I'm kinda disappointed with the lack of reviews, so if u have just a minute please tell me what u think! More reviews mean faster writing and vice versa...You have been warned… :D lol**

**This chapter takes place six years after the last one, by the way.**

**Faye – 15**

**Amhar and Clara – 6**

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><p>It was no trouble getting through the gates into Camelot.<p>

Morgana had allowed Faye to perform a simple ageing spell on her, because she needed the practice, and she knew that she would be recognised if she didn't have some kind of disguise. Morgana had taught her daughter every spell she knew, but Faye's magic was still much more instinctual than needing to be controlled by words in the Old Tongue. They were moving very slowly – Morgana's now rather old body couldn't seem to make much of pace – and Faye had the inspirational, if slightly insulting idea of pretending that Morgana was her grandmother.

"Come, Grandmama, we must find somewhere to stay before the night comes," the young woman said, holding her mother's arm as if to stop her from falling. The guards paid them almost no attention, except for one, who stared avidly at Faye, seemingly mesmerised by the gently swinging wavy black hair that fell to her waist. She ignored him.

"This way," Morgana whispered hoarsely, pointing along the main street. "I know a place we can go." They continued to move off at a very slow speed. _Ugh, _thought Morgana grimly as she tried to force her legs to move faster. _I can't believe I'm actually going to feel like this one day! _

The pair continued through the bustling market and eventually arrived at a small thatched house in a side street.

"This house used to belong to _Guinevere_," Morgana informed Faye, spitting the Queen's name out mockingly. "But I doubt she'll have much use for it now. Come, quickly." They slipped inside, a quick word from Faye unlocking the door with ease.

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><p>It took them barely two days to become settled into the tiny cottage. They had brought nothing with them – they had nothing to bring. Morgana remembered the layout of the city perfectly and she had told Faye so much about it that the girl was familiar with it after a few hours of walking around. As dawn broke over their third day in Camelot, Morgana woke Faye. The girl was like a knight; she slept lightly and was awake the moment her mother touched her shoulder.<p>

"Faye. Get up and dress quickly. There is much for me to tell you and we have little time."

She nodded and pulled on a simple but pretty dress that Morgana had found in a cupboard in the cottage. _This must have belonged to Queen Guinevere_, she thought. For some reason, the idea of wearing another's clothes without them knowing made her slightly uncomfortable, but she brushed the feeling off.

"I am ready, Mother. What do you need to tell me?" Faye turned around with a flourish. Her hair fell loosely over her shoulders and her green eyes were big in her pale, heart-shaped face. Morgana sucked her breath in through her teeth.

"What?" her daughter asked nervously, staring down at herself.

"You look like me," Morgana told her simply. Faye looked at her with a strange expression on her face. Was it… regret? The older woman couldn't make it out. "Now, today you must go and find a job at the castle. It doesn't matter where, in the kitchens will do if you must, but just _get inside the castle_." Faye nodded but a small frown graced her features.

"I don't know how to act as a servant though."

And so Morgana began to educate her daughter on everything she knew about being a servant in a royal household; from how to carry food to who to bow to and how to address people. By the time it was about nine o'clock, Faye might as well have been working as a servant for her entire life. At last Morgana decided she was ready.

"Go," she told her with a small smile. "Remember, do not mention me or that I am your mother, or this whole plan will fail and neither you nor I will ever get the throne of this kingdom. You know who Arthur and Guinevere are, the others I think you can be excused for not recognising."

Faye curtsied politely and turned towards the door. "Yes, my lady."

"Very good. Oh, and Faye…" The girl looked back. "Take this. It is the only thing I brought with me from Camelot all those years ago, and it will hide your face better than anything." In her arms was a deep red cloak. Faye pulled it round her with a big smile.

"Thank you! It's beautiful. And it's pretty cold outside anyway so I won't look strange to be wearing it." With a final smile at her mother, she turned and swept out of the door into the empty street, rather like Morgana herself had done several times in the past, many years ago.

Although she would never have admitted it to anyone, least of all herself, Faye was rather nervous about going out to work for the first time. She walked slowly up towards the majestic white castle, head bowed and staring at her feet. She was also wearing warm leather boots that she had found in Guinevere's cottage. Faye was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not even see the small girl playing in a sheltered spot next to the castle wall until she almost walked into her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, are you alright?" Faye gasped. The little girl had shoulder length blonde curls that bobbed as she looked up. Her brown eyes shone and she gave a huge smile, ignoring the question.

"Have you come to play with me?" she asked. "My name's Clara and I'm being a fairy. You can be the big sister fairy and I'll be the little sister fairy." Clara held out her hand and laughed. The sound was filled with such pure joy that Faye couldn't help but smile back as she took the child's hand in her own.

"Of course I'll play," she said.

They played like this for quite a long time, and Faye was surprised at how much she enjoyed it. The child was bouncy and full of life and Faye found herself longing to be back in her own childhood. Eventually, though, she remembered what she was supposed to have been doing and pulled her hand away guiltily. Clara looked up at her as though she was about to cry.

"Don't go," she said.

"I have to go," Faye told her, though the expression on the little girl's face tugged at her heart. Suddenly, she had an idea. "Here," she glanced around and whispered a few unpronounceable words. A tiny flower appeared in her hand. She tucked it into Clara's hair. "A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl," she smiled. Clara smiled too, but a little sadly.

"Will you come back and play with me again soon?" she asked.

"I don't know," Faye closed her eyes for a moment. "I have to go. I'm sorry, but goodbye." She pulled up the hood of the cloak and walked away. Just as she went round the corner, she heard a voice.

"Come inside now, Princess Clara, it's time for your lessons. Quickly, my lady, you are a little late already."

"Coming, Greta. Where's Amhar? Is _he _late too?"

"No my lady…" The voices faded away into the castle and the door banged shut.

Faye sank down against the wall in shock. _Oh Faye,_ she thought grimly. _What have you got yourself into now? _

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><p>"Father?"<p>

Arthur looked down at the little girl running beside himself and Merlin. He smiled. It always made him happy to see her; she was so joyful and full of life all the time. He was proud to call her his daughter. They automatically slowed in order to let her walk with them.

"Yes, Clara?"

"When am I allowed to learn to fight like Amhar? He told me that you're going to let him use a proper sword next week!" She pouted. Merlin grinned at the king.

Arthur sighed. "No, Clara, I'm definitely not letting Amhar use a proper sword next week. Next _year_, I think I told him. Actually, I don't think I even said that…" Merlin smirked. "Losing your memory now, sire? You must be getting on a bit!" he murmured. Arthur glared at him and turned back to Clara.

"Good, because he's so stupid that he'd probably cut his own arm off." All three of them grinned at this. Amhar and Clara, despite being twins, were constantly trying to get back at each other. "But, Father, what about _me_? I'm _much _cleverer that Amhar and I'm as strong as he is, too. I beat him when we were—" She broke off abruptly and looked a bit guilty.  
>"When you were doing <em>what<em>, exactly?" Arthur raised an eyebrow at her, then changed his mind. "In fact, I don't think I want to know. Hmm... I don't know. I'll think about it. I suppose Morgana did though, didn't she…" Merlin's face became thoughtful at the mention of Arthur's infamous sister, remembering his visit to the druids. He had been to talk to them a few more times since then, but they had refused to tell him anything more. However, he had become much better acquainted with Joseah. Occasionally, the druid was still as mysterious and awkward as ever, but over time they had become quite good friends. He was dragged back to the present as Clara uttered some words that sent a shiver down his spine.

"Father, when can I go and play with the lady who made the flower come again?"

Merlin and Arthur looked at each other, identical expressions of apprehension on their faces, but for entirely different reasons. Merlin knelt down in front of Clara. She smiled at him nervously, wondering why her question had made the two men so uneasy.

"Clara, who was this lady? What did she look like?"

"She didn't tell me her name. I never asked. We played fairies and she was the big sister and I was the little sister and—"

"Can you remember what she looked like?"

"- and then she said she had to go and I wanted to carry on playing and then she made the flower come and she put it in my hair and she said that it was a pretty flower for a pretty girl."

"But what did she look like? What was she wearing?" Merlin was beginning to get slightly frustrated.

"She had long hair, even longer than mine, and it was all black and wavy, like Mother's, but less. She had a really pretty cloak that was all red but she never took the hood down. It was cold," the little girl told them matter-of-factly. Merlin forced a smiled at her and stood up.

"Run along now, Clara. Don't go and play outside again today, it's too cold." Arthur told her, lifting her up and swinging her round in a hug. She giggled.

"Bye, Father, bye Merlin," she called, running off down the corridor.

Once she was gone, the two friends looked at each other.

"It's Morgana. It must be. No one else has a cloak like that."

Merlin frowned. "I don't know… it sounded like her, but why would she dare to come here again? And surely she would have realized who Clara was – calling the daughter of the man she hates 'pretty' isn't exactly her style, is it?"

"She used magic, Merlin!"

"Many people use magic, Arthur, more than you realize. I'll go and look for her." Arthur started to protest, but Merlin silenced him with a look. "You can't go – if it is her then she'll kill you. I'll be back by sunset."

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><p>Faye was still searching for the door to the servant's quarters. She marched down the street nearest the great white citadel in a huff, hood still firmly pulled up around her face. Her long hair had escaped and was hanging down, but she didn't want to take the hood off. For some reason, she felt safer with it on, although she had seen some people giving her rather nervous glances. The city was much more lively now, people were bustling through the market and streets, all intent on their business. Faye was so engrossed in crossly contemplating where on <em>earth<em> this stupid door could be that she didn't hear someone come up behind her.

"_Morgana_," the person hissed angrily from between their teeth. She whipped round, startled, her hood flying back.

A man stood before her. He had dark hair, quite long for a man's that looked as if it hadn't been cut in a while and the most startling blue eyes she had ever seen.

He stepped back from her, looking guilty. "I'm so sorry… I thought you were someone else…"

She curtsied. "It is no trouble, sir, can I help you at all?"

He was staring at her again, scrutinising her face as though looking for something. "No, no," he muttered, continuing to frown at her slightly. Feeling uncomfortable, she looked down at the floor. Immediately he seemed to realize what he was doing and straightened up. "I'm sorry, and you really don't need to call me sir. I'm just a servant." Her face brightened.

"Perhaps you could help me then. I'm looking for work in the castle… my grandmama and I just came here from our village in the east and we have no money left. Are there any posts free in the castle?"

He frowned thoughtfully. "What kind of work?"

"Anything."

"I'm not sure," he said. Her face fell. "I'll ask around, though… perhaps the queen needs a lady-in-waiting or something… What did you say your name was?"

She smiled gratefully. "I didn't, but it's Faye."

He held out his hand with a lopsided grin. "I'm Merlin. Pleased to meet you, Faye. I really am sorry for mistaking you for Morgana before, I must have scared the life out of you." She shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway, I'll ask around the castle and find out for you. Meet me here, tomorrow at noon?"

She smiled again. "Of course. Thank you so much for helping me, I don't know what I'll do if I can't find a job somewhere."

"You're welcome. Now, I'd better be going." They smiled at each other a final time, and Faye walked away down the street.

_I wonder where she got that cloak from_, Merlin thought.

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><p><strong>AN: Does this chapter move on too quickly? I wasn't sure how much detail to put in… plz tell me what you think – remember, plz review! **


	6. Chapter Five

**A/N: Helloooo guys next chapter up at last :D thank you for everyone who reviewed, maryamT, x-MySweetEmrys-x, SunnySmile13 and especially chawk1993 for all your help and encouragement with this story so far and plz keep on telling me what you think! (sorry I didn't put everyone up here but there are so many of you!) Enjoy :D**

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><p>Arthur looked up with a start as Merlin hurried into the room. Gwen was lying on the bed and she sat up, staring at the two men who both had slightly anxious expressions on their faces.<p>

"Well?" Arthur spoke first.

"It's not her," Merlin told him. "I don't know where she got that cloak from, but it's not her." The king visibly relaxed. Gwen frowned but didn't say anything.

"Are you sure? Where is she now?" Arthur asked.

"Yes. I spoke to her – she's only a girl, she can't be more than fifteen. She's looking for work in the castle. And of course I don't know where she is now, I wasn't exactly going to follow her home, was I? Anyway," Merlin rolled his eyes at his friend. "I was wondering—" He was cut off by an angry growl from Arthur.

"What do you mean, _you don't know where she is?_ She used magic, Merlin, she's a sorceress! You heard what Clara said!"  
>A shutter seemed to fall across the younger man's face. "Is sorcery really so bad, Arthur Pendragon?" he asked quietly. The king's face darkened.<p>

"Sorcery took both my parents and my sister from me, Merlin. Do not even _ask _me to think of changing my mind about it." The matter was apparently closed. If anyone had been looking closely, Merlin's blue eyes seemed to ache with sadness for a moment, but no-one did.

The manservant shrugged and straightened up. "Well, as I was saying, before I was so _rudely _interrupted - Gwen, you don't happen to need… er… a serving girl or something, do you?"

The queen stood up with a surprisingly stubborn expression on her face. "I am not going to do anything until you tell me _exactly _what is going on. What have you two been doing and why is my daughter involved?" She crossed her arms and scowled at them both. Arthur and Merlin looked at each other, a slight smile turning up the corners of Arthur's mouth. His wife was hopelessly protective of their children, even more so than Arthur himself had been over her all those years ago. He still was, in fact, but they didn't seem to end up in quite as many sticky situations as they had before their marriage. He walked over to her and laid his hands on her tense shoulders.

"Guinevere, I promise you that Clara is in no danger. She told us about a woman she met while playing outside… that is who we were talking about. The sorceress." Arthur looked away from Gwen's deep brown eyes to glare at his manservant.

"But… what did she do? What makes you think that she has magic?" Gwen frowned.

Arthur sighed, wishing he didn't have to tell her this. "Clara told us that this woman… she was asking about 'the lady who made the flower come'. Apparently the girl was playing with Clara and when she had to go she made a flower appear and she put it in Clara's hair.

"That's hardly Morgana's style, is it?" Gwen pointed out, clearly relieved that Clara had had very little to do with it after all. Merlin and Arthur looked at each other again.  
>"That's what we thought too," Merlin said, walking forwards. He decided not to mention that it was more Arthur than himself who had been convinced that it was Morgana. "But Clara told us that the woman was wearing a long red cloak with a hood and she had very long black hair - she said it was curly like yours, but less. You can see why we made the connection."<br>The queen nodded absent-mindedly, then turned to Arthur again. "So why are you so convinced that this girl is a sorceress?" The king looked startled. She was the last person he had expected to challenge his motivation against sorcery.  
>"She used sorcery!" he spluttered. "You can't possibly expect me to-"<br>"I am not asking you to forgive magic for everything it has done to you, Arthur. I just don't understand why you are so convinced that this girl used sorcery. You want to arrest a most likely innocent young girl on the grounds of what a six-year-old has told you when your most trusted friend - and don't look at me like that - has assured you it is not Morgana!" Gwen exclaimed.  
>For once in his life, King Arthur Pendragon was completely speechless. He couldn't seem to find a word to say. Behind him, Merlin smirked at Gwen. He clapped Arthur on the shoulder.<p>

"I take it this means that you _aren't _going to try and arrest her?" he grinned. "And Gwen, now you know what me and Arthur have been up to, could you give Faye a job?"

She cocked her head to one side, and a small smile graced her features. "Faye. That's a beautiful name. Of course… she could have the post of my personal maidservant."

Arthur found his voice again, and growled at this comment. "What are you _saying_? I refuse to have a sorceress working in my castle! For my wife, as well!"

Gwen's face hardened uncharacteristically. "What are you going to do about it then? You can't stop me, Arthur. I will have whomever I want as my maidservant. You may be a king, but that doesn't mean I always have to do what you tell me to." Her words reminded them of another time, long ago, when they were all young and Arthur was still a prince. Staring from the bemused and angry king to the equally angry queen, Merlin stepped forward, intending to break up the fight before it got out of hand.

"Er… Arthur? Gwen? Look, you don't have to argue. I'm sure I can find Faye a place to work somewhere else…"

At last Arthur shook his head. "No… it's… it's fine. She can be your maidservant, Gwen. I'm sorry. You're right, perhaps I am too hard on magic… I'm as bad as my father…" At this last thought he looked so miserable that Gwen rushed forward and pulled him into a deep kiss.  
>"You are nothing like Uther, <em>nothing<em>," she whispered firmly. The couple continued to speak, but no one was there to hear them. Merlin had slipped away into the night, a crooked grin on his lips as always, glad to know that his friends were happy once more.

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><p>Faye rushed through the darkening streets, hoping she could find her way back to the house. Her heart was racing, fuelled by adrenaline, breath coming in short pants. She wasn't even sure she knew why she felt this way. It wasn't a good feeling… but if it was fear, why and what was she afraid of?<p>

At last she found the cottage, and she hovered on the doorstep for a moment, unsure whether to go in. Then she heard a noise behind her and slipped inside without another thought.

"Mother?" she whispered. "Are you there?"

A dark shadow materialised from the back of the room. "I am here, Faye. Have you done as I asked?"

A shiver seemed to run down Faye's spine as she realized that her fear from moments before had been of her mother. She had not done what she wanted. The girl knew nothing of what Morgana had done or what she was capable of doing, but she could still sense the anger boiling inside her, ready to lash out at any moment. "No," she tried (and failed) to keep her voice from quavering. "I have not. I could not find the servant's entrance to the castle, so I have not found a job. But I—"

Faye blinked and broke off as candlelight suddenly lit up the room. The older woman's face was distorted with anger. "Why not? You spent all _day _out there! Do you know how long I have waited for this throne, Faye? _Do you know?_ I have waited nigh on my entire life to have a plan that would work against the Pendragons, and you cannot even find yourself a job!" she spat.

Guilt flooded Faye's face. This was her fault, she should not have spent so much time with Clara. She closed her eyes as she remembered that she would have to tell her mother that particular detail as well.

"Mother, I am sorry, but I have learnt many things today, and I ask that you would listen," Faye pleaded quietly. When Morgana nodded she took a breath to continue. "I believe that your brother and Guinevere have borne children. Their names are Amhar and Clara, I think." Morgana sucked her breath in through her teeth, but did not seem quite as horrified as Faye had expected.

"That should not pose too much of a problem. You will simply have to kill both of them too."

_But they're my cousins!_ Faye wanted to cry, but she held it in. "And also, I think I will have a job by tomorrow. I met a man called Merlin who works in the castle, and he is going to find me a job if he can. I'm meeting him at noon tomorrow."

Morgana's eyes widened. "What did he look like?"

"Black hair, blue eyes. He was quite pale. Why? Do you know him?"

Her mother leapt to her feet and began to pace wildly. "You must remember him. I told you about him! Don't you know what he did to me?" Wordlessly, Faye shook her head, wondering why such a kind and smiling man was making her mother so angry. Morgana stopped and turned to face her daughter, who was shocked to see her eyes filled with tears and betrayal. "He was my friend," she whispered. "And then… then he tried to kill me."

* * *

><p><em>A few nights later<em>

Merlin ran through the forest as fast a he could, falling down and picking himself up, trying to get to the clearing where he could meet with the dragon. As he ran he tipped his head back and roared to the sky,

"_O drakon, e mala soi ftengometh tesd'hup anankes! Erkheo!"_

He smiled slightly with satisfaction as he heard wingbeats overhead after a few moments, and by the time he reached the clearing, Kilgharrah was waiting for him.

"Young warlock," the dragon growled in way of greeting. "Or should I say old? For you are not so young any more, Merlin." Something that could have been a smile curved his mouth.

"Perhaps. But I need your advice, and I do not have much time," Merlin gazed up at the great dragon and sighed. "Arthur still hates magic."

Kilgharrah merely looked down on Merlin with something like amusement. "You and the young Pendragon – or again, perhaps not so young – have been through much together. Your destiny has not changed, Merlin."

"But what am I supposed to do? Arthur is meant to be uniting all of Albion and bringing magic back to the land! Camelot's borders have shrunk, if anything, and like I said before, he hates magic!" Merlin shouted in frustration.

"Be calm, Merlin. Things will happen as they should. But I will tell you this: until King Arthur knows you truly, Albion will never come, and the prophecy will not come true."

The warlock looked up at the dragon in horror. "What do you mean? I _can't _tell Arthur about my magic, he'll kill me!"

"Perhaps you will not need to." He could tell from Kilgharrah's tone that the matter was closed, and he stepped back.

"Thank you for answering my call," he said.

The Great Dragon nodded. "I will always come; this you know. Goodbye, Merlin, until you next have need of me." He stretched his wings and soared away into the blackness of the night, leaving Merlin standing there alone, feeling thoroughly confused.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, I hope you liked it! I thought I had writer's block on this chapter but when I got down to writing it just sort of flowed out :D do any fellow writers find that when they get going the story just seems to happen without any thought whatsoever?**

**Please review, I some encouragement, anything wrong or that doesn't make sense… or what you liked (hopefully?)**

**Btw, just to tempt you - I have now planned out the entire story so I know what is going to happen and you don't! Mwah ha ha ha! :P**


	7. Chapter Six

**A/N: There's a lot of time jumps in this chapter – hope it doesn't get too confusing! This is a filler chapter really, but I promise things will get interesting soon!**

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><p>Merlin slipped out of the castle at noon, glancing around guiltily. He had been unable to meet Faye the past few days, and as he had no idea where she was living, he could not find her to explain why. He could only hope that she would come.<p>

He was not disappointed. A few minutes later, he looked up to see a small, red-cloaked figure weaving her way towards him. He ran down the steps to meet her.

"Faye, I'm so sorry. I haven't been able to get away these past few days – Arthur was keeping me _extremely_ busy." Merlin rolled his eyes and grinned, knowing full well that Faye herself was the reason Arthur was trying to keep him busy all day – the king still didn't really want the girl working so close to him, despite the fact that she had been wrongly accused of having magic... or so he had been assured...

The girl hesitantly dropped the hood of her cloak, and Merlin noticed fully for the first time just how beautiful she was. Her skin was smooth and pale; wavy black hair falling unhindered to her waist; eyes bright green and huge in her heart-shaped face – eyes that were now filled with… was it _fear_? _What reason could she possibly have to be afraid of me? _Merlin wondered.

"Hey," he said more softly. "Are you alright? You look a bit…" Scared? Terrified? What could he say?

She shook her head, and a nervous smile flickered across her pretty features. "No, no, I'm fine, really," she assured him. "And it's alright about not meeting me… but what did you mean about Arthur? I thought… I thought Arthur was the _king_?" Her eyes grew wide.

Merlin sighed. "Yeah, well. He's not so special really; he's a complete prat most of the time."

She barely contained a gasp. "You mean… you work for him? With him?" _Why didn't Mother tell me this?_

He gave her a playful bow and a big grin, glad she seemed to be relaxing a bit. "King Arthur's personal manservant, at your service."

She laughed. "So, did you manage to find me a job?"

He nodded. "If you want to take the post, you could now be Queen Guinevere's maidservant."

Faye blinked, sure she had heard wrong. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Queen Guinevere has offered you the post of her personal maidservant. I think she wants it to be like when Morgana… Lady Morgana… gave her that job, even though she was only a blacksmith's daughter." Pain flickered across his face. Faye wondered if he was remembering what he had done to her mother. She still wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Of course I'll take it!" she told him in delight, pushing those thoughts away. "Thank you! I just… I wasn't quite expecting such a high standing job."

He smiled with her. "The best part is, you'll get to see me all the time too! It'll be nice to have someone to talk to other than high-and-mighty King Arthur."

Merlin was surprised to see her smile fade to be replaced by an uneasy frown. Some thing wasn't quite right here, but he just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

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><p>The next morning, Faye knocked hesitantly on the door to what Merlin had told her was the king and queen's chambers.<p>

"Come in," came the rather bleary-sounding reply. She entered to see Queen Guinevere and King Arthur wrapped up in the bedclothes together, both looking blissfully happy. Her face flooded with red when they looked up at her, as did Gwen's. Faye hurriedly backed out again.

There was the sound of scuffling from inside the room and after a few moments, the door opened to reveal a slightly wary-looking Arthur, now dressed - although Faye couldn't help but notice that his shirt was on back-to-front.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, my lord," she bobbed a curtsey, trying not to meet his eyes.

Arthur nodded in acknowledgement. "You must be Faye. I'm terribly sorry – we thought you were Merlin. He's usually the only one who comes in here… it may take a bit of getting used to." Gwen appeared beside him in her nightclothes, still rather flushed.

"I'm really sorry… I just didn't think – I'd completely forgotten you were coming!" she rushed, much less formal than the king.

Faye smiled uncertainly. "Well… um… do you want me to help you dress, my lady?"

"If you don't mind… and it's Gwen, of course," Gwen smiled, obviously trying to put Faye at ease after their sticky start.

And so the day began.

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><p><em>Three years later<em>

The clear air was ringing with the sound of swords clashing.

Clara and Amhar were fighting each other. It was a test of skill; a challenge Clara had given to Amhar, mocking him that he could not beat a girl in battle if he wanted to. Eager to prove themselves, they had arrived at the training ground about fifteen minutes before and had soon gathered quite a crowd. Knights and peasants alike, all curiously watching two youngsters fighting each other.

Faye and Merlin sat side by side at the edge of the ground, waiting for them to finish. Faye had long since lost any fear she had of Merlin, but she sometimes still wondered if what her mother had told her about him was true. She had never plucked up the courage to ask Merlin about it, and if she was honest, she didn't really want to know.

"Clara's certainly holding her own," Merlin murmured, a smile in his voice. The girl had an expression of fierce concentration on her face, her blonde hair flying as she swung and twisted her sword through the air. The princess was only nine years old, but she had already completely mastered both the art of the sword and the ways of being a lady of Camelot, rather like Morgana had, in fact.

Faye nodded. "She makes it look easy. Amhar's going to be completely humiliated!"

She was right. Amhar was being forced backwards on the defensive as Clara pushed forward, hammering blows down onto her twin and twisting her sword almost too fast for the eye to follow. At last, Amhar dropped to the ground with his shield over his head, having lost his sword moments before. Clara pointed her weapon at him with raised eyebrows.

"Do you surrender?" No reply. Clara sighed exaggeratedly. "Come now, Amhar, don't pretend. You've lost and you know it. Be a man and admit it!"

The young prince raised his head looking rather frustrated. "Fine. I surrender. You win." He got up and stalked away.

Clara smiled victoriously and came over to Faye and Merlin. "Well, what did you think?" she asked.

"You were brilliant," Faye told her loyally. Merlin nodded in agreement. "Would you like me to get you a drink, my lady?"

"Oh, yes please, Faye. Bring it back to my chambers, would you; I want to get this awful armour off!"

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><p>A few hours later, the whole court was assembled in the great hall. Arthur was standing talking earnestly to Leon, who looked rather anxious. He kept glancing at the door.<p>

"They'll be here soon," Faye heard him mutter.

"What do you think we're waiting for?" she asked Merlin. He shook his head, as puzzled as she was. Moments later, the double doors at the end of the hall swung back to reveal a patrol of knights, each wearing the billowing red cloaks of Camelot. They had clearly just got back from travelling, as many of them were still carrying saddle bags. The leader walked up to Arthur and bowed respectfully.

"My lord," he spoke gravely. "I bring ill news. We have recently come from the border of what used to be Cenred's kingdom, and we have learnt that his son, Conrad, still rules there." He paused. Arthur waved his hand for him to continue. "He is gathering his army, my lord, as well as any sorcerers who can be persuaded – and there are many. They are heading towards Camelot now." The knight bowed his head. Arthur closed his eyes in shock for a moment, but then the king in him took over and refused to allow him to show any weakness.

"Who leads this army, is it just Conrad? Surely he has someone else with him to gather sorcerers."

The knight looked up. Faye had a terrible feeling she knew what he was going to say.

"I am sorry, my lord. It is the Lady Morgana."

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><p><strong>AN: Wow! That last bit was so much fun to write! I'm kinda rubbish at cliffies but this one is sort of okay :D just in case anyone is wondering where I got the name Conrad from, it came up on the spell check when I typed in 'Cenred'….**


	8. Chapter Seven

**A/N: Sorry for the wait guys… I know this is a long one and there's more time jumps I'm afraid… but hopefully you'll enjoy it? Leave a review if so :D**

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><p>Faye slammed the door back with such force that the wood cracked. She was angry; angry and confused. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel.<p>

"Mother! Where are you?" she hissed. As she always did, Morgana slipped out of the shadows and cocked her head on one side, wondering what could possibly have made her daughter so angry.

" What – have – you – _done?_" Faye cried before the older woman could speak, abandoning all attempts at being quiet. "You have gone and started a _war!_"

Morgana's eyes narrowed. "So our dear king finally realized that Conrad is on the move, then."

Faye slammed her hands down on the table. "People are going to die, Mother! _Innocent _people! Doesn't that _bother _you at all?"

The older woman glared at the girl. "Didn't you realize there would be a war, Faye? How did you think we would gain the throne of Camelot?"

Faye shook her head, suddenly struggling to hold back tears. "I don't want people to die! I wanted to be a princess, a queen, not a murderer!"

Morgana sighed. She supposed she should have expected this – after all, Faye was still only a child at heart. She moved to her daughter and pulled her into a gentle embrace. "It's alright," she whispered, stroking her hair. "It's alright. You won't be responsible for everyone that will die; it is Arthur who will initiate the battle. I know him too well to think that he will sit back and allow his men to fight on the opposition's terms. You will still be queen, Faye, queen of all Camelot, for I am too old now to rule, but I will stay by your side for as many years as I have."

Morgana felt Faye stiffen. "Don't say that," the girl murmured. "I don't want to think about that." Morgana closed her eyes at the onslaught of words that she wanted to say, but couldn't. _Oh my daughter, how I love you. I wish my pride would allow me to tell you that, but I cannot, so I hope you know already. You are everything to me, Faye, everything. You will be a great queen; you are fair and gentle-hearted and compassionate; you are everything I will never be. I love you, Faye, always know that. _

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><p>Merlin had stayed behind after the court had been dismissed, wanting to speak to Arthur. They had much less time together now, it seemed, and the friendly banter and teasing they used to share had almost disappeared entirely.<p>

"What are you going to do?" the warlock asked quietly. "We can't fight sorcerers." _Well, you can't anyway._

And King Arthur looked up at his best friend and said with complete honesty, "I don't know."

Merlin moved to his side. "Arthur. You are a great king and a powerful warrior. You are the subject of legend and prophecy. Morgana is not going to beat Camelot. _You _won't let her. _I _won't let her."

A ghost of a smile flickered across the king's face. "_You,_ Merlin? What are _you _going to do?" They stared at each other. _Come on, Merlin, _the warlock thought. _If you're waiting for the right moment to tell him, then this is it. _But something stopped him. Maybe it was his destiny holding him back, telling him not to, or perhaps it was just plain habit, but either way, Merlin simply chuckled and shook his head.

"Wouldn't you like to know!"

Arthur punched him playfully, then remembered that he was supposed to be a king and Merlin was supposed to be just a servant. Though they both knew the latter wasn't true, the smiles faded from their faces and Merlin stepped back.

"Is there anything you would like me to do, Sire?"

"No, you may go," Arthur told him. Merlin was just about to walk out of the door when he changed his mind. "Merlin, wait." The younger man turned. "Ask Guinevere and the children to come here, would you? I want them out of the city before the battle."

Merlin nodded but looked slightly sceptical. "You think Gwen will leave you here in the thick of things, not knowing what's happening?"

Arthur shrugged. "I can't let her get hurt, nor Amhar or Clara. They mean too much to me." His expression belied the emotion in his voice.

Merlin turned and was about to leave when he looked back again. "Arthur," he said quietly. The king looked up to meet his manservant's gaze. "You _will _win this battle, Arthur Pendragon. You have a destiny, and Morgana will not be the one to prevent it." Then he was gone, leaving Arthur thinking just how much he hated Merlin's 'wisdom' moments.

* * *

><p><em>Two days later<em>

"Don't ask me again, Arthur. I am not leaving and you know it!" Gwen scowled at her husband.

"Please?" he tried.

"No! You think I could just leave you here, right in the middle of a _war_, not knowing what was happening? And what about Lancelot and Merlin and Gaius? They're my _friends,_ Arthur, I would be terrified every single day just wondering what was happening and who I might have lost – who might be – be—" she stumbled to a halt, unable to hold back the tears any longer. Arthur took her gently in his arms, letting her cry onto his shoulder until her breathing slowed and the sobs stopped shaking her body.

"I – I'm sorry," she whispered. "But please, Arthur, don't make me go."

He was silent for a long moment. "I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you, Guinevere. I would rather die than see you hurt." He pressed his lips to her forehead.

She pulled back and looked at him. "Then can't you see that I feel the same about you?" He stared at the ground. "Arthur? What's wrong?" She put her hands either side of his face, forcing him to look at her. "That's the problem, isn't it? You don't think I love you." He shook his head; tried to protest to the truth in her words, but she shushed him. "Arthur. I love you more than anyone else in the whole world. I love you more than I love our children. I love you more than I love my own brother. Don't you understand that?"

And, at long last, Arthur allowed himself to believe that it was possible for her to love him as much as he loved her.

* * *

><p>"Gather the knights," Arthur announced. "Send out patrols to the villages, telling the people that they can take refuge in Camelot if they need." Sir Leon nodded and bowed. "But I need you to stay, Leon, and make sure Percival, Lancelot, Gwaine and Elyan don't go either." Leon smiled, knowing it was the Knights of the Round Table that the king wanted by his side.<p>

Conrad's army was getting closer by the day, burning and pillaging its way through the outlying villages of Camelot. Arthur had been receiving reports of women and children dead without a mark on them; of entire villages reduced to smouldering piles of ash, and he knew it was the work of sorcery. On the outside, he gave the appearance of a strong and fearless warrior king, an image he knew his people needed to see. Inside, however, he felt like he was nearing his breaking point. It just seemed so wrong for soldiers and knights to be slaughtering defenceless women and children, violating everything the knights stood for. _My men would never do that,_ he thought firmly. What with Conrad's army getting so close, and the stress of soon meeting his sister once again, whom he had thought to be dead for many years, Arthur felt like his head would explode. But he maintained the outward show of calm, though it was getting harder and harder to do so.

Arthur knew that the only person who could see through his façade was Merlin. The manservant understood exactly how he felt, and why, even the parts that Arthur couldn't put into words. When they were together, they never spoke of the approaching war, or Morgana, or any of the other things that worried the king, but he knew that Merlin knew, and that in itself was a comfort.

* * *

><p>It was later that night that there was a knock on the door of the king and queen's chambers. Assuming it was Faye or Merlin, Arthur called for them to come in, but made sure everything looked in order before he did so. He had learnt his lesson about making assumptions as to who was at the door a long time ago.<p>

As it turned out, it was not either Faye or Merlin at the door. A young man stepped inside, clearly a servant form the way he bowed so low that his nose virtually touched the floor. Arthur was tempted to roll his eyes.

"My Lord," the man began. "My Lord, there is something I must tell you and Queen Guinevere." He looked cautiously at Arthur, who waved a hand impatiently for him to continue. "My sister and I live in a small house in the lower town, next to the house where you used to live, My Lady." Gwen had come to Arthur's side and smiled gently.

"How could I forget? I lived there for many years, you know."

The man looked like he might have attempted to smile if he hadn't been so anxious about offending one of them. "Then, My Lady, I bring you grave news. I believe that the house is no longer empty. A few nights ago, I and my sister heard the sound of shouting through the walls, shouting and crying. We could not hear what was said, but I am almost certain that it came from there."

Gwen looked surprised. "I assumed it would have been emptied and sold on long ago. But thank you for telling us – what is your name?"

The man's eyes widened slightly. "Tom, My Lady," he said, bowing low again. Arthur placed his hand on Gwen's shoulder as he felt her tense slightly at her father's name.

"Then I thank you, Tom. You have been a loyal citizen of Camelot." The man bowed again and Arthur held back a loud sigh as he hurried out of the room.

"For goodness' sake, he couldn't stop saying My Lord this, My Lady that, could he? And the way he bowed like that just made me want to—" Guinevere placed a finger on his lips, laughing softly.

"Just because you've got so used to Merlin's ways over the years doesn't mean every servant will treat you like he does, silly. Anyway, I'll go and check the house in the morning. It'll be nice to go back, I haven't been there for years."

"Take Lancelot or one of the knights with you, will you?"

Gwen rolled her eyes teasingly. "You are so overprotective, Arthur. I am not _completely _defenceless, you know."

He smiled down at her. "I know."

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><p><em>The next morning<em>

"Lancelot?"

The knight stood up and turned round, a smile breaking over his features. "Gwen."

"I need to go down to my old house and check it out, there've been some reports of people staying there. I mean, it's not that I mind, but I thought I should probably take a look, and Arthur is… well… being—"

"He wants me to go with you. Of course I will, it's not like I'm really doing anything here," Lancelot nodded, immediately understanding. They set off down the streets, walking at a fairly slow pace. It was still quite early and there were only a few people in the streets. After only a minute or two they were standing outside the small house where Gwen had lived for many years, and the queen looked up at Lancelot with a small smile.

"Do you think you could just stand on the other side of the street or something? Whoever's in there might get the wrong idea if they see you – they might think we've come to evict them." He nodded.

She stepped up to the door, suddenly overwhelmed with longing for how things used to be. Life was so simple then; it was just get up in the morning, spend the day looking after Morgana, go home and go to bed again. She raised her hand a knocked carefully on the wooden door. After a few seconds it opened to reveal a small pale face that she immediately recognised.

"Faye?"

"My Lady! What are you doing here? I'm so sorry, am I late? I was just about to leave…"

"No, no, Faye, I decided to get up a little earlier this morning, that's all." Gwen shook her head and smiled at the girl's startled expression. "Er… I just thought that maybe you hadn't realized that… well, not that you need to leave or anything…"

Her maidservant winced. "I know – this is your house, isn't it? I'm really sorry, it was just empty when we got here all those years ago…"

"We?" Gwen asked curiously. Faye's eyes widened as she realized she had slipped up.

"Oh, my grandmama and I," she replied in a slightly forced tone. "But she is asleep right now, I'm afraid, I get up much earlier than she does." (In actual fact, Morgana wasn't in the house at all – she had been spending the nights for the last week or so training the sorcerers in Conrad's army, but Gwen didn't know that.)

"Oh that's all right, don't let me bother her then. I'm sorry if I startled you, Faye, I didn't realize it might be you… why don't you have today off, actually? There's not going to be much to do, really, just preparing for the army and I'll be with Arthur all day," the queen smiled, trying to put the girl at ease.

"Thank you, My Lady," Faye smiled, bobbing a curtsey.

Gwen frowned mockingly. "It's Gwen, Faye!"

"Thank you, Gwen," the girl repeated obediently, but there was a smile in her voice.

The queen smiled once more and walked away with Lancelot at her side. Faye closed the door and sank down behind it with a loud sigh.

"_That_," she told the empty house, "was _way _too close."

* * *

><p>In Gaius' chambers, inside the castle, Merlin snapped upright in bed. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up and immediately he realized that his magic was warning him of a nearby threat. Silently, so as not to wake Gaius, he got dressed and slipped out of the room.<p>

Merlin hurried quickly through the castle up to the eastern tower, pounding up the spiral staircase as fast as he could. When he reached the top, breathless, he was startled to find that it wasn't nearly as early as he had expected and the sun was already up. But those thoughts were blown away on the wind as the warlock stared out over the city and saw something that sent a cold wave of dread through him.

Minutes later, he skidded through the door to Arthur's chambers. He ran over to the bed and shook the king's arm. His eyes snapped open.

"Merlin?" Arthur stared up at the younger man. "You're on time!"

Merlin shook his head, for once unable to smile. "They're coming."

**A/N: I'm so glad I've finally finished that! It was horrible to write, it really did not ****want to work out… anyway, it will get more interesting soon, I think, probably next ****chapter when Morgana and Arthur meet up! **

**Review?**


	9. Chapter Eight

**A/N: No more time jumps in this chapter, but the POV does skip around a bit. Sorry. Hope it's worth the wait!**

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><p><em>Faye.<em>

The girl leapt to her feet, startled. She was sure she had just heard a voice in her head, saying her name, but that was –

_Faye, it is me. Morgana._

Faye relaxed as she recognized her mother's voice. Although they had never used this form of communication before, she had a feeling all she would need to do was think her words so Morgana could hear them. _Mother? Where are you? _

_I am outside the city, with the army. I need you to come. There is a spell I must give you if our plan is to work, and you will have to fight alongside the other sorcerers so you need to be here._

Faye nodded, then remembered her mother couldn't see her. _Of course. _

_Go now, to the palace stables. Saddle the horse at the end of the row, nearest the door, as quietly as you can. I imagine most people will be preparing for the battle, but just in case you need to get away quickly, you need to be near the door into the courtyard. Join me as fast as you can._

_I will, Mother. I am leaving now._ Faye knew she shouldn't be excited that the battle would soon begin, but she had learnt to ride with Gwen over the years and she had found that she loved it. Fighting from horseback would be an amazing experience.

_Hurry, Faye. Conrad is impatient._ Morgana broke off the connection with her daughter and placed her hand on the arm of the tall man beside her. He looked remarkably like his father, but – not that Morgana had a problem with it – he seemed to hate Camelot far more than Cenred ever had.

She smirked at Conrad, then turned to look at the white towers of Camelot. "It has begun."

* * *

><p>Arthur stared at Merlin. "Are you sure?" he asked, sounding almost hopeful, wishing it wasn't true. The manservant nodded. "Then go, tell anyone you see. Find Leon, tell him to prepare the knights. Go, quickly!" Merlin hesitated, then ran out of the room.<p>

Arthur rolled over and was surprised to see that Guinevere had already left. He hoped she was still inside the citadel; it would be far too dangerous for her to go into the lower town now. Breathing deeply, he slipped out of bed. It was time.

* * *

><p>Faye could sense the army before she saw it. Magic, rippling and billowing, legions of power. Briefly, she wondered just how many sorcerers her mother had managed to recruit.<p>

Then she saw them.

The army seemed to stretch for miles. Hundreds and hundreds of men on foot, marching in time, getting closer, step by step, to Camelot. At their head were two horses. Knowing that was where her mother would be, Faye urged the beautiful black war horse she had stolen into a gallop, Morgana's red cloak billowing out behind her. It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before she was alongside them, her mother and a man she had not met before.

"Faye," Morgana sounded relieved. "This is King Conrad."

She inclined her head to him, unwilling to show him a huge amount of reverence. After all, as her mother had said, he was only a tool. "My Lord." He narrowed his eyes and looked her up and down, but said nothing.

"Call them to halt," Morgana instructed him. "We need to meet with the sorcerers." He scowled at her but bellowed the command out over the army. Immediately, they stopped and a large section peeled away – the sorcerers, Faye assumed.

Morgana pulled her horse round and galloped to the group. Faye quickly followed, wondering what her mother was going to say to them.

"Today," Morgana began, and her face lit up with a fierce glee. "Today, Camelot will fall!" The sorcerers cheered. "We will be forever remembered as the only ones who were strong enough to bring magic back to this land, and rid it of the tyrants that are the Pendragons!" More shouting and cheering. Morgana had apparently forgotten that she too was a Pendragon. Faye stayed silent.

"Now, Faye," Morgana turned to her daughter. "This is the spell that you must use during the battle, once the King and his children are all in one place." She leaned over and whispered a few words in Faye's ear. "It will move you almost instantly from one place to another. Picture exactly where you want to be. Try it now."

Uncomfortably aware of the eyes of all the sorcerers on her, Faye fixed her mind on a small hillock a hundred yards or so from the army, and whispered the words. A wind began to draw up around her, blowing up the leaves and grass into the air… and then it was over. Faye gasped and promptly sat down in surprise – on the rocky hill she had pictured in her head. Some distance away, she could see her mother smiling and mouthing something, but she couldn't hear what it was.

_Well done. Come back now, but try it without using the words._ Faye jumped as she felt Morgana's presence in her head, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. Obediently, she pictured her horse and willed her magic to take her there. It worked. She smiled and remounted, not quite as off balance as she had been the first time.

"Well done," smiled Morgana. "Now, it is time to tell you the plan. You remember that I taught you how to create a fireball?" She continued without waiting for an answer. "We are going to wait until Camelot's army comes out to fight, and then we will blast the lower town with fire. Arthur has allowed all the people from the villages to take refuge in Camelot." She smiled maliciously.

_But they're innocent_, Faye thought. _They've never done anything to you!_ But she knew what her mother's answer would be, and instead fixed her thoughts on being queen of Camelot.

* * *

><p>The knights of Camelot stood in a circle around Arthur.<p>

"When we go out there today," he looked round at them, meeting their eyes, "we will be fighting for what is right. Remember that. We are fighting for our homes. Our families. We are fighting for the right to live in peace without sorcery tarnishing this land." Merlin, standing quietly in the corner, winced at that statement. Lancelot glanced back at him sympathetically. "Today we fight for all that is good! For Camelot!" Arthur shouted, raising his sword in the air.

"For Camelot!" the knights bellowed. Arthur swung onto his horse and led them out of the city, surrounded by Leon, Gwaine, Lancelot, Percival and Elyan. Merlin jumped onto his horse and followed after them to keep an eye on Arthur. At the back of the army, he was joined by someone on a white horse wearing a long blue cloak. Merlin smirked as he guessed who it was.

"Gwen?"

He heard a sigh and she pulled down the hood cautiously. "How did you guess?"

"I thought you might be coming. Where are Amhar and Clara?"

"I told them that it's their own choice." Gwen bit her lip. "I think they're both out here somewhere. You don't think I should have let them come, do you?"

Merlin rubbed her arm gently. "I think it's important to give them the choice. If the other knights see them, they won't let them get hurt, anyway. And they're both amazingly good with a sword." Gwen nodded, feeling reassured, and then another thought popped into her head.

"You haven't seen Faye anywhere about, have you?" she asked.

A shiver of unease ran down Merlin's spine, but he couldn't explain it, so he shrugged it off. "No," he answered. "I haven't."

* * *

><p>At the head of the army, Arthur was getting increasingly nervous. The opposing army had just some into sight, and they were at least twice as large as Camelot's warriors. He knew he couldn't let Conrad get anywhere near the city – the sorcerers would completely flatten it, this was going to be no ordinary battle. He called a halt and sensed the Knights of the Round Table spreading out on either side of him.<p>

"Sire?" It was Leon. Arthur raised his hand in the air for his army to see, indicating what they were about to do. He heard them prepare themselves, the horses champing at their bits, the knights' armour clinking. He dropped his hand.

"CHARGE!" he bellowed.

And they did.

Time seemed to go in slow motion as Arthur urged his horse faster. He could see Conrad's army were charging too; he was at the head. The seconds were dragging by… one… two… three… and then everything rushed back to speed at the moment of impact, and Arthur was fighting like he had been born to do all his life. He let a fierce smile pass over his face; the exhilaration of fighting was incomparable to anything else he had ever experienced.

Only moments later, it seemed, Arthur heard a huge shout from a section of Conrad's army. A collection of bright orangey-yellow fireballs flew through the air and into the lower town. Despite the distance, Arthur could hear the screams from where he stood.

"No," he breathed as he saw what they were doing. All the people from the villages; everyone who he had told to take refuge in the city; they were all being murdered. "NO!" he yelled again and threw himself back into the battle with everything he had. He had to kill them, the ones who had done it, he had to punish them…

* * *

><p>An hour or so later he was not so sure of himself. Camelot's knights were falling by the second and the remaining few (around half of their original number) had been forced back and back. They were now fighting in the streets and even Arthur could see that they could not win this battle. The sorcerers had launched repeated attacks on them and much of the lower town had been destroyed. He took a deep breath to call a retreat to the citadel – and stopped, unable to quite believe what he was seeing.<p>

Amhar and Clara were in the main courtyard, fighting. But apart from the fact that they were in the battle, and clearly had been for some time, they weren't just fighting anyone. They were fighting Morgana.

On the sight of his sister, Arthur was filled with such hatred that a red mist seemed to come down over his eyes. He began to run, his eyes fixed on his two children. Clara was twisting her sword so fast you could barely see it, dancing on her toes, ducking, leaping and twirling around. She made it look like a graceful dance, not a fight. Amhar was fighting like a man, like Arthur did, with hard blows and never missing an opportunity to strike. Between the two of them, Morgana was having a hard time staying on her feet.

"Am—" Arthur was about to shout, but stopped himself. He didn't want to distract them. Though he could hardly bear to, he waited at the edge of the courtyard.

With a cry, Clara succeeded in disarming Morgana, but as the sword fell, it caught her leg. The girl yelled and dropped her sword. Arthur rushed forward and dragged them both back, swinging Clara into his arms as if she weighed nothing. She struggled for a moment, then stopped with a small gasp of pain.

"What do you think you were _doing_?" Arthur hissed at her. "I told you to stay in the castle!"

Morgana leapt to her feet and grabbed her sword, her expression furious at having been beaten by two children. She glared around and then smirked as she realized something. "Well, well, well," she chuckled maliciously. "Look at that. Everybody's here." And they were. By some cruel trick of fate, Arthur, Gwen, the prince and princess, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table were all neatly arranged in a perfect semicircle around Morgana.

"_Duratus corpora!_" she cried. It took Arthur only a second to realize what she had done. None of them could move their legs, only bodies from about the shoulders upwards. "Now, Faye!" the witch screamed. Arthur thought he had never seen her look quite so demented before. Her clothes were ripped; her hair was wild around her face…

A strange wind seemed to be growing up in front of him, blowing up their hair and clothes. _Magic,_ he thought viciously, closing his eyes against the fierce wind. Moments later, he felt a dagger against his throat and his eyes flew open. Before him, hands shaking, stood Faye. He glared at her and her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."

"I should never have trusted you," he growled. "You have betrayed me. You are a sorceress!"

She only shook her head. A small voice spoke up: "Faye? What are you doing?" It was Clara. Faye's lip trembled and the tears spilled over onto her cheeks. She slowly lowered her hand and let the dagger drop. It clanged against the stone with an eerie finality. The girl turned.

"No!" she cried. "I can't do this – they're my _family_!" A golden shield spread out over Arthur, Clara and Amhar, clearly emanating from Faye.

Morgana's face drained of all its colour. "You are my daughter!" she screamed. "You cannot betray me!" A bolt of bright light flew from her hand, shattering the shield. Faye crumpled to the ground.

"Faye!" Gwen shouted, and somehow breaking free of the enchantment, she ran over to her maidservant's motionless body. Morgana laughed a high, cruel laugh and threw ball of fire at Arthur. As she did so, another shield spread out, but it seemed somehow much stronger than Faye's. It protected everyone in the courtyard who was not on Morgana's side, and Arthur was sure he could _hear _it – like bells ringing a perfect clear note – but that was impossible. Morgana froze.

"Emrys…" she whispered in horror.

Merlin's eyes found Arthur's. His expression was one of resignation. _I'm sorry_, it seemed to say. Arthur frowned. _What for?_ The manservant stepped forward. Lancelot's eyes widened. "Merlin, no!" he yelled, but Merlin shook his head.

He drew himself up tall and seemed to almost crackle with energy. His eyes darkened and Arthur realized he was seeing the man whom he had only glimpsed inside Merlin in his 'wise moments'.

"Unfortunately for you, Morgana, Emrys has another name," Merlin's eyes narrowed as he stared at the witch, now cowering on the floor. _No_, Arthur thought desperately. _It can't be_. "That name is Merlin."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay! It's getting exciting at last! I hope the battle scenes are okay, they're not really my strongest point in writing :S but please leave a review, your support means so much to me! (that sounds _really _cheesy, I know, but it's true!)**


	10. Chapter Nine

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews! I couldn't do it without you guys :D (well maybe I could but there would be no point…) There will probably be one or two more chapters to this story, but I just decided to completely change the ending so I'm having to rethink a few things :D Enjoy! – if you do, please leave a review!**

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><p>Merlin kept his eyes fixed firmly on Morgana. He couldn't look round, he just couldn't bear to see what they thought of him. Gwen, Elyan, Leon, Gwaine, Percival… Arthur. All his friends, and now they all knew him for what he truly was. Merlin dreaded how they would react.<p>

"No! It can't be!" Morgana shrieked, though she could see the truth before her eyes. "Not_ you_! You're just a _servant_!"

Merlin crossed his arms and scowled at her. "Why does everyone seem to feel the need to insult my intelligence? Do I look stupid or something?" Someone chuckled behind him.

"Yeah, Merlin, it's that scarf thing you always wear – it does strange things to people!" It was Gwaine. Merlin ignored him, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief that his friend didn't seem to be taking it _too _badly. He glared down at Morgana again.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Morgana. You could change… leave your hatred behind and live in peace. We were your friends once, Morgana, we could be again. But," he sighed, a sound of real sorrow, "if you won't, then I have no choice but to kill you." He met her eyes, hoping her pride would allow her to unbend enough to renounce her ways and let peace rein at last.

"I will never yield, Emrys!" she spat. Merlin's heart sank. "Not while _Arthur_ is King! Can you not see that he is just like his father? He will kill you now that he knows who you are, just like he has killed so many with magic!"

The warlock could not help the flicker of fear that passed over his face. Morgana saw it and latched onto it, a smile returning to her lips.

"Leave them, Emrys. Let them die. Then we can bring magic back to this kingdom – we can bring the land to life once again! Isn't that what you want? You could live in peace, Emrys, never fearing for your life, never wondering who will hate you for your gifts and who won't. No more secrets, no more lies. You could – "

"Shut up!" shouted Merlin, unable to take it any longer. He knelt down in front of her, freezing her with a flash of his eyes. "There will never be peace while you live, Morgana. I believe in Arthur. He is the Once and Future King and he has a destiny to bring magic back to this land. Perhaps I will be there to see it, perhaps I won't. But these people are my friends – I will never betray them for as long as I live." A flick of his hand forced her down on the ground. Her eyes were wide and scared. She looked like a young and frightened girl again, not a woman who could kill without a second thought. He was surprised to find that his eyes were wet.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I tried, Morgana… I really did. I – It'll be quick, I promise." Taking a moment to gather his thoughts and his courage, he murmured a few careful words. "Goodbye," he breathed as her eyes drifted closed. After a few seconds, he straightened up with a heavy heart, wondering how he would be received. He was met by thirteen pairs of eyes staring at him in shock.

Then Arthur spoke, his voice hard. "Arrest him."

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><p><em>A few days later<em>

"All the rest of Conrad's men have been evicted from the city, my lord. It would appear that after Merlin – I – I mean, after the Lady Morgana was – er – killed—" the knight stuttered, staring at the floor and going slightly pink.

Arthur's face darkened at the mention of his _former _manservant. _Merlin_, he growled to himself. "That will be all," he scowled at the man, who hurriedly bowed and virtually ran out of the room. _Merlin the traitor. Merlin the liar. Merlin the sorcerer. _

"Leave me," he barked, suddenly hating the roomful of faces all staring at him with varying degrees of anger, hatred and curiosity. Nobody moved. "Leave, now!" he shouted angrily, banging his fist down on the arm of his chair. Everyone made a rush for the door – just, as Arthur belatedly realized, and it did nothing to improve his mood, like they had done when his father was angry.

"You cannot keep putting it off like this forever, my lord," came Leon's quiet voice. Arthur was about to order him to leave, but then thought better of it – it was probably a good idea to have a least one of his personal knights talking to him. "What do you mean?" he sighed.

"Merlin. I know you don't want to hear this, but he's been locked up in the dungeons for three days now, and you're going to have to deal with him soon," the knight replied. "It's not fair on him, and the others are only going to get angrier with you the longer you leave him down there."

Arthur was silent for a minute of two. Then he sighed resignedly again. "I suppose you're right, like always. Have him sent up here. I need to see him."

* * *

><p>Merlin leaned back and rested his head against the wall. He was cold and it was dark, and his magic was just aching to solve these problems for him, but he wouldn't allow it. To use magic now would be to confirm his guilt to Arthur.<p>

Arthur.

Oh, Arthur.

Merlin had never felt anything quite as gut-wrenchingly painful as that moment when Arthur looked at him with _hatred_ in his eyes and commanded his men to take him away. Merlin had felt so betrayed, so disappointed in the King that he had been utterly speechless as they dragged him away. There were no words to describe how he felt now.

He sighed, gently rubbing his temples. Part of him had always been sure that Arthur would accept Merlin's magic, eventually. It would appear that was not the case.

It had been three days. Surely Arthur would decide what to do with him soon?

It was then that he heard the approaching voices, all very familiar. He stood up, clanking the chains as he did so.

"Arthur would kill me if he knew I'd let you come down here, you know that?" Leon.

"Yeah, and since when have we ever cared about what our _darling_ King thinks?" Merlin frowned. Gwaine sounded bitter and angry, not his usual happy-go-lucky self.

"Oh, be quiet, the pair of you," came Lancelot's voice. He too sounded strangely uptight. "It's just round here, isn't it?" As they came round the corner Merlin hurried forwards.

"Gwaine? Lance?"

"Merlin, my friend! It's good to see you!" grinned Gwaine, although it looked a bit forced.

Merlin snorted. "What, because I'm in a cell as a convicted sorcerer? Ha ha, very funny." But he grinned too.

Leon looked rather grim. "I'm sorry, Merlin. Arthur wants to talk to you…"

Merlin's smile faded. "I thought that's why you'd come. Well, at least he's not going to leave me down here much longer, either I'll go free or I'll be dead by tomorrow morning." He chuckled humourlessly. Nobody laughed.

Lancelot stepped forward and met Merlin's gaze. "You know none of us wanted it to turn out like this." Merlin nodded. "Come on, then. Let's go and face the music."

They walked through the corridors silently. Leon was walking behind them, even though Lancelot, Gwaine _and _Merlin had all assured him that they were not going to try and make a break for freedom.

When they arrived at the huge wooden doors into the hall, Merlin stopped suddenly.

"If he – y'know—" he stared intensely at his boots and then looked up at his three friends in turn. "Just – I would never do anything to betray you. Any of you. Don't – don't forget that."

Lancelot clapped him gently on the shoulder. "We _all_ know that, Merlin," he told the warlock quietly. "Me and Gwaine, Leon, Percival, Gwen, Elyan… In fact, most of us have stopped talking to Arthur completely." He glanced ruefully at Gwaine. "We thought it might help."

Merlin grinned weakly. "Well, thanks anyway, whatever happens." He stepped forward and the guards swung the doors open. But just before entering, he turned once more and frowned at the pair of them. "One more thing – _don't _come in, for goodness' sake. I can handle this on my own."

And he turned and walked into the room.

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><p>Arthur was lounging casually on the throne at the end of the hall, his eyes sharply watching Merlin's every move. The younger man stood with his head bowed, not saying anything. At last the king jumped to his feet and began to walk towards him.<p>

"Well?" he barked. "What have you got to say for yourself, Merlin? Or should I say _Emrys_?"

Merlin's head snapped up, his eyes blazing suddenly, but his voice was still demure and respectful. "What would you have me say, my lord?"

Arthur met his gaze, and Merlin saw the full extent of the other man's betrayal and pain at last. "You lied to me," he whispered. "I trusted you, and you have _lied _to me since the day we met!"

"If I had told you, your father would have had me killed."

"You cannot know that I would have told him!" Arthur yelled. "I have shared everything with you – my feelings for Guinevere, my secret councils, hell, I even told you that I thought magic couldn't be all bad! And you repay me with what? Deceit, betrayal, lies!" He turned away sharply.

The fire left Merlin's blue eyes abruptly. "Do you still think that magic cannot be all bad?"

Arthur rounded on him, coming up close until their faces were almost touching. "How can you ask me that, after what magic has done to this city in the last few days?" he spat. "Magic is evil, Merlin, it corrupts people! It has destroyed so much, ruined so many lives… of course magic is bad!"

Merlin glared at him, the anger returning suddenly. "And where does that leave me, then, I wonder?" he hissed. "You are a king, you are royalty! What do you know about having to hide your true self every day of your life; about hating what you are and being able to do _nothing_ about it? You thought you knew me, but your own sister would have been able to understand me better than you ever could!"

Arthur frowned. "What are you talking about? Of course you could do something about it!"

Merlin looked at him again, his eyes cold. "No, Arthur, I couldn't, because unlike every other sorcerer you have met, I was born with magic. It is part of who I am. I _am _magic."

Arthur was speechless for a moment, but then seemed to come to a conclusion. "But that still doesn't make any difference! You are a sorcerer; you practise magic within the walls of Camelot! You are evil!" He stalked back to the throne.

Merlin's face darkened. "Do you ever listen to anything I say, Arthur Pendragon? I don't _practise_ magic, I _am_ magic! I couldn't get rid of it if I wanted to! Morgana was right - you are a tyrant king, a cruel and unjust man, just like your father was!"

And Arthur turned with a murderous expression on his face, unsheathing his sword with a roar of anger. He ran towards Merlin, lifting the blade high, preparing to slash any part of the other man that he could get to…

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><p><strong>AN: I just wanted to apologise to any readers out there who like Morgana – I'm really sorry to kill her cos I love her character too, but to be honest I preferred her when she was good. Anyway, I really did try to think of a way that she wouldn't have to die, but it just wouldn't work out with the story, sorry**

**Also, this chapter has been beta-read by me so any mistakes are my own.**

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Did you like it? Constructive criticism welcome too!**


	11. Chapter Ten

**A/N: Wow! I was completely gobsmacked (hehe I love that word) by the amount of reviews I got for the last chapter! They make me want to dance round the room like a 5 year old! – but _obviously_ I don't actually do that, because I'm not five. Yeah. Totally. **

**Anyway, here is the result of your wonderful reviews! Another chapter, which I hope you like as much as the last one!**

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><p><em>Previously…<em>

_Arthur turned with a murderous expression on his face, unsheathing his sword with a roar of anger. And he ran towards Merlin, lifting the blade high, preparing to slash any part of the other man that he could get to…_

Merlin watched, frozen, as Arthur ran towards him. Part of him was screaming to move, to get out of the way, but the other part was firmly chanting _Arthur won't hurt me Arthur won't hurt me_ over and over.

He knew which one he wanted to listen to.

But the truth said otherwise, and at the last second Merlin stepped back, just as the tip of Arthur's sword cut into his arm. He grabbed at the wound, reeling, feeling the colour drain from his face. Arthur looked stunned by what he had just done.

"Merlin—" He stepped forwards, reaching out, but Merlin stumbled backwards away from him.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed, his face a mask of shock and pain. Arthur's expression tightened as he looked down at the sword still in his hand. The blade was red with blood; Merlin's blood. Slowly, so slowly, Arthur opened his hand and let Excalibur drop to the floor with a clatter.

Just at that moment, there was a yell from outside and the doors to the hall were thrown open. Lancelot and Gwaine leapt in front of Merlin, both their swords pointing unflinchingly at Arthur's chest. Immediately, any urge Arthur had felt to help the man he had just injured, albeit superficially, was replaced by fury and disgust.

"What do you think you are doing? Lay down your swords!" he ordered. Neither of the knights moved. "I am your King! You cannot disobey me like this!"

"Merlin, run, get out of here!" Lancelot barked roughly. Merlin had never seen his friend so angry before. He stayed rooted to the spot, clutching his injured arm and staring wide-eyed at Arthur.

"Merlin!" Gwaine yelled. "_Go!_"

At last the warlock began backing towards the doors, his eyes never leaving Arthur's.

"I thought you were my friend," he whispered, and then he was gone. Arthur struggled against Gwaine and Lancelot, shouting for the guards, but no one came, and eventually he became quiet. His eyes never left the place where Merlin had stood, the words he had spoken running through his head again and again.

_I thought you were my friend._

_So did I._

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><p>Merlin ran out of the room, past the motionless bodies of the guards and Sir Leon, still holding his bleeding arm. It was only a small cut, but it was quite deep, and it hurt. It wasn't nearly as painful as the fact that <em>Arthur <em>had done it, though, the fact that he had been prepared to stab Merlin; to hurt his best friend. As he reached a door (a very familiar door) he realized he had been unconsciously heading for Arthur's chambers. Cautiously, he pushed open the door.

"Gwen?" he called out, but the room was empty. It took him only a moment or two to do what he had to do. Then, with a last look at the room where he had spent some of the best times of his life, he left Camelot for the final time.

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><p>When Gwaine and Lancelot finally allowed him to leave the hall, some hours later, Arthur went back to his chambers. He slammed the doors shut angrily. Why did it have to be so complicated? Why had the look of shock and betrayal on Merlin's face when Arthur's sword had caught his arm made him feel so guilty? If only he hadn't let Merlin get so close to him, if only he hadn't trusted him with so much, if only, if only, if only… Arthur threw himself down on the bed with a groan.<p>

"Guinevere?" he called out hopefully. She was just what he needed right now; a kind and soothing voice to tell him everything would be okay. But no – she hadn't been sleeping in Arthur's chambers for days, ever since he had thrown Merlin in the dungeons.

It was just about then that he noticed the neckerchief lying on the table.

"_Merlin_," he growled. Did the man – the sorcerer – have to leave his things _everywhere_?

He walked over to the table and picked up the soft red fabric, turning it over in his hands. A small piece of paper fluttered out. Arthur had to hold it up close to read the tiny writing on it.

_I have never betrayed you, and I never will. _

_I will not return to Camelot to your knowledge,_

_and you will never see me again, _

_but I will always be there, protecting you._

_Like I always have. _

_Don't forget me._

_Merlin_

Arthur gave a cry of frustration and ran down to the courtyard. He grabbed the arm of one of the guards and roughly turned him to face him.

"Has the sorcerer left the castle?"

The man looked at the ground. "We tried to stop him, Sire, but he was on horseback, and he galloped straight towards us. We had to get out of the way… I'm sorry, Sire, but I fear he is long gone."

Arthur let out another wordless cry and tossed the neckerchief to the ground. He stalked back to the castle. The guard hurried away.

It was dusk when it began to rain. The red scarf was soon lying in a puddle, soaking wet. So nobody was there to see the small hand that reached out and picked it up.

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><p>Gwen looked up as the door to her private chambers opened. A dripping wet red-cloaked figure stood by the wall panting slightly.<p>

"Faye!" Gwen cried, moving towards her. "Are you alright? I thought you'd be here when I got back, but—" she broke off as she saw the girl's face.

"Merlin's gone," Faye said flatly. "I don't know what Arthur's said, but I saw him ride out of the gates. And I found this," she opened her hand to reveal the wet neckerchief. Gwen stared at it for a moment, then sat down hard on a chair that she could have sworn wasn't there before.

"He's really gone, then," she whispered. Then she looked up at Faye, curiosity burning in her eyes. "So how do you feel about all of… well, y'know… Merlin?"

Faye's green eyes were hard, and for a second Gwen saw not her maidservant but Morgana standing there. "He killed my mother."

"He didn't have a choice."

"He could have just – he could have let her go!"

"Oh, yes, and let her destroy the rest of Camelot!"

Faye's eyes filled with tears and Gwen immediately felt guilty. "She never told me any of what she'd done to you. I thought _you _were the bad ones…" the girl whispered.

Impulsively, Gwen stood up and pulled her into her arms. "If I've seen anything about Merlin in the time that I've known him, it's that he hates having to hurt anyone. If there had been a way to save Morgana, then he would have taken it. But he'll be back, I know he will; he'll never stop protecting Camelot."

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><p>Just at that moment, however, Merlin was not doing very much protecting at all. He had abandoned the horse at the border of the forest and now he was running. He didn't know how long he had been going for or where he was heading, or at what point the tears had spilled over onto his cheeks, he only knew that he had to get as far away from Camelot as he could. It didn't matter what he had put in that note to Arthur; there was too much pain and hurt inside him to be protecting anyone just now. Part of him could see that he wasn't thinking very clearly, but he chose to ignore it.<p>

Some time later, Merlin became aware of wing beats in the air and glanced up to see the Great Dragon flying above him. He groaned to himself; the last thing he needed right now were more cryptic riddles, but before he could think of a way to get out of talking to the dragon, he was landing in front of him.

"Running away, Merlin?" Kilgharrah growled. Merlin shrugged half-heartedly. "What are you doing here? Where is Arthur Pendragon?"

Merlin stared up at him sullenly. "Leave me alone. Arthur doesn't need me any more. He hates me."

"You fool!" the dragon snarled. "Have I not told you before that a half cannot truly hate that which makes it whole? You and the Pendragon share a destiny together!"

"He tried to kill me!" Merlin yelled furiously.

"And that will be the making of Albion! You are only one man, Merlin, you cannot see into the future and know how your actions will affect the rest of the land!"

"And _you_ can, I suppose!"

The dragon fixed Merlin with a baleful yellow eye. "You could never understand the extent of the power of a creature of magic such as I, Merlin. You do not even understand your own power! But enough of this, it is time I returned you to Camelot."

Merlin seemed to crumple at his words. "Don't. Please don't. Take me anywhere but Camelot."

"If you will not climb onto my back, I will carry you there in my claws."

"No! Please. Take me… take me to the druids! Please, Kilgharrah, you have to listen to me – I need a break from Arthur, from everything in Camelot. I will go back one day, of course I will, one day I'll go back, but just for now…" the warlock pleaded.

The Great Dragon eyed him thoughtfully. "I can feel destiny on the brink of shattering," he said at last, "and I fear that if I return you to Camelot now your destiny will be destroyed forever. Very well, Merlin, I will take you to the druid camp, but I will not forget that you are one day to return to Camelot and make your peace with King Arthur. I will not forget, Merlin. Remember that."

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you again for all your amazing reviews, alerts and favourites, you really make my day! So if you enjoyed this chapter… or if you didn't… please tell me! I would love to know! Next update soon hopefully :D**


	12. Chapter Eleven

**A/N: Another chapter for you! Enjoy (I hope)!**

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><p>The weeks passed slowly for Arthur, but there were a few instances that stood out among the boredom and lonliness of the rest of the time.<p>

The first of these had occurred the same night _he _had fled the city. _He_, of course, was not being mentioned by name by anyone, because it was fairly likely that Arthur would throw you in the dungeons if you did.

But anyway. It had been late when Arthur stumbled back to his chambers after drinking a good part of the evening away, and of course he had not expected anybody to be there. As a rule, there was no one except Arthur in Arthur's chambers any more. So it had come as a bit of a shock to see Guinevere, _his _Guinevere, sitting gracefully on the bed (Arthur hadn't yet worked out how anyone could sit gracefully, but he wasn't paying much attention to that at the time).

"Guinevere!" he slurred. "What a'you doing here?"

She looked up at him with an expression of disgust on her face. "You stink of ale. Been drinking your sorrows away, have you? And with good reason!" she glared at him. Arthur stared at her, startled by the venom in her voice. He had heard it before, of course, but never directed at him.

"What did I do?" he asked stupidly.

Apparently, this was not the right thing to say. "What did you _do_?" she shrieked, sounding uncannily like Morgana. "What did you _do_? Oh, you only threw your best friend – and my best friend too – in the dungeons for three days! Then you decided to _talk to him_ and, according to Gwaine, attempted to stab him!" Gwen was now right up close to Arthur, uncomfortably close, and despite her height being rather less than his own, Arthur felt inclined to step back.

"You've been talking to Gwaine." Her yelling did seem to have had the double effect of clearing his head, which he supposed was a good thing. Sort of.

Gwen ignored him. "This is _Merlin_ we're talking about, Arthur! _Merlin_, who has stayed by your side for over ten years! _Merlin, _who has probably saved your life more times than you could ever deserve! _Merlin, _who knew about my pregnancy with Amhar and Clara only minutes after you did!"

Arthur's face darkened at the mention of his former manservant's name. "He practices magic, Guinevere! He is evil!" he shouted.

"No!" she cried. "No, Arthur, Merlin is not evil." She spoke more quietly. "Merlin is a good man, Arthur. He has saved many people's lives in Camelot, yours included. I mean, how many instances can you think of where you have miraculously escaped unharmed when you should have died? And I'm pretty sure he saved my father's life when he was dying of the plague. Please, Arthur, don't let your hatred of magic destroy your good heart," she gazed at him pleadingly and he tried; he really did; he tried to make himself see that Merlin wasn't evil. Merlin didn't deserve to die. But all he could think of was _magic is evil, so Merlin is evil. _It was like his father's voice speaking to him inside his head: 'Magic is evil, Arthur.' 'Magic corrupts those who use it.' 'To know the heart of one sorcerer is to know them all.'

Slowly Arthur shook his head. "No," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Guinevere, but I can't change how I think."

The next second his head whipped sideways as a sharp slap connected with his cheek. Afterwards, he always said that it was the drink that had slowed his reactions, but in truth he just hadn't seen it coming. He staggered back a step, gaping. Had she actually just slapped him?

Gwen's face was full of righteous fury. "Morgana was right, Arthur, you are just like your father," she spat, eerily echoing Merlin's own words. And then the door had slammed shut, and Arthur had been left alone, wishing he didn't feel like this was all his fault.

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><p>Arthur grimaced at that memory. Guinevere had not spoken to him since; she had simply spent most of her time throwing dirty glances in Arthur's general direction. But the king was getting used to that – after all, most of his knights, many of the servants and even Gaius had taken up that game with apparent relish. The second of the 'incidents', as Arthur had taken to calling them, had happened almost exactly a week after the first.<p>

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><p>He had been on his way to Gaius' chambers to find out how Clara's leg was doing at the time. When he got there, Clara had just been coming out. Her face broke into a grin when she saw him.<p>

"Father!"

Arthur swung her up in his arms, laughing. "How are you, then, my little princess?"

"I'm better, Father, Gaius says that if I want to I can start training again now. And he says that I won't have a scar." She smiled up at him, her blue eyes shining. "I can, can't I, Father?"

"Of course, you can, princess, but be careful, won't you? I don't want you to get hurt again."

She clapped her hands and ran off down the corridor. "Bye, Father!"

Arthur watched her go, the smile fading off his face as he became aware of someone else standing in the doorway.

"Gaius." He inclined his head.

"My lord." Was there a hint of sarcasm there?

Arthur shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, wondering what to say. "Look, Gaius, I just… about the sorcerer…"

"You may as well use Merlin's name, my _lord_, we both know what it is," the physician said coldly. Definitely sarcasm on the 'my lord' that time. Arthur scowled slightly.

"Fine. I am aware that he was your ward for all intents and purposes, and I merely wanted to apologise that his evil use of magic was not discovered sooner."

Gaius' face hardened and a steely look came into his eyes that Arthur had never seen before. "On the contrary, Sire, I have known about Merlin's magic since the first day he entered Camelot. He saved my life."

Arthur tried to conceal his shock. Gaius had already known, and he hadn't told Arthur or his father? "He used magic, Gaius, in violation of the law. He is evil."

"Oh, stop trying to convince yourself, Arthur!" Gaius said loudly, abandoning all pretence of courtesy and proper titles. "You can see better than anyone that Merlin isn't evil, you are just blinded by your betrayal that he didn't tell you about his magic to your face! And if you had looked perhaps a little more closely, just thought about the circumstances you were in and how the pair of you always survive – if you had just used your _brain_, Arthur, you would have seen that Merlin has magic!" Arthur had never seen Gaius so angry before, he was positively exploding with rage.

"Gaius, I—"

"I'm not done, Arthur! You have _no idea_ what Merlin has been through for you, how you have made him feel! He has faced death more times than you can count in your place; he has lost his loved ones; his family; his friends… Can't you see that, Arthur? Why would anyone with evil intentions towards you or Camelot do those things? And now you have gone and told him that he is no better than Morgana or Morgause, or anyone else who has threatened Camelot with magic, and then you tried to kill him!" Gaius yelled.

"Magic corrupts peo—"

"No it doesn't Arthur! Magic is not good or evil, it simply exists. You can use your sword for good deeds or evil acts, can't you? Well, magic is like that," the physician's voice was gentler all of a sudden. "I know you have seen precious little of the good sort, Arthur, but believe me, Merlin has not changed because you now know he has magic. The only difference is you and how you think of him."  
>Arthur felt like he was a young boy again, squirming under Gaius' disapproving gaze when he had done something naughty. He shook his head and drew himself up tall in an attempt to shake of the feeling. "No, Gaius, I am afraid that I will not change my mind on this matter. And anyway, the sorcerer has already left the city. He returns on pain of death." The king turned to leave, his feelings reinforced by his words.<p>

"Is that official, then, Sire?" The physician spoke so quietly that Arthur almost thought he hadn't said anything. His voice was full of terrible pain and sadness; age-old, world-weary sadness, and with a start Arthur realized how much the old man cared for Merlin. He bowed his head but did not turn.

"When I make the announcement, it will be."

Needless to say, Arthur had never actually intended to make an official announcement that Merlin was to be killed if he ever returned to Camelot.

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><p>"My lord?" Arthur was snapped out of his reverie by a cautious voice calling his name. Well, his title.<p>

"What?" he snapped. It was a knight, one he had rarely seen before. Not one of his loyal, trusted Knights of the Round Table. But not of them were on speaking terms with him any more – even Leon had stopped talking to him after the incident with Gwaine and Lancelot. Idly, Arthur wondered when all his knights had become more loyal to a servant than to their king.

But enough. His mind was drifting again. "Well? What do you want?" he asked again, slightly less harshly.

The man bowed low. "My lord, we have heard rumours of a dragon in the area recently. It was supposedly seen flying over the western forests, and it is suspected that it was conversing with the druids. They may be preparing to attack Camelot."

"Are there any other signs of war-making?" _The druids. That must be where Merlin has gone._

"Very few, my lord, but it would appear that the dragon – if the rumours are true – is flying ever closer to Camelot. Surely it would be unwise to let such things be chanced upon?"

Lost in thought as he was, Arthur ignored the knight's questioning of his judgement. _Merlin…_ _What if I sent a message to the druids? What if I asked— _But no. He could not, would not, let Merlin back into Camelot. That would completely throw out of the window everything he had said so far. Although, it would gain him back his knights… and his friends… not that Merlin had ever been his friend. Of _course_ not.

The man in front of his sighed rudely as he saw the king's eyes drift away again. "My lord?" he said sharply. Arthur's eyes snapped back to his.

"Do nothing as yet, but make sure the men are prepared to fight," he ordered. Anything to get rid of him.

The man bowed briefly and hurried away, clearly as glad to be leaving as Arthur was to see the back of him.

And in that moment, Arthur knew what he had to do.

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><p><em>A few days later<em>

Deep in the woods to west of Camelot, a certain warlock rose from the small, rather uncomfortable bed he had been sleeping on, and poked his head out of the flaps of the tent where he was currently staying.

It was clearly just past midday.

Merlin cursed and hurried down the path towards the campfire circle (last nights ashes were lying cold and grey), where he hoped to find someone who would tell him where he should be and what he should be doing. It had been weeks since he had arrived at the druid camp, but he still sometimes found that he relished being able to sleep in. But he was used to working, and despite the protests of "No, no, Emrys, of course you needn't work while you are staying with us" and "You can just do as you please here, my lord, there is no obligation for you to help with the work" – to which he had stubbornly replied, "If I don't what will I do all day?" – he had decided that he would help out whenever and wherever he could.

Looking up on his arrival at the campfire circle, which also served as a meeting place, Merlin discovered that nearly every one of the druids currently living in the camp was standing in a large group around the four elders, who were speaking quietly to them. Many of them bowed as he arrived and most of them, especially the younger ones, stared at him avidly. Merlin shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. He hated getting so much attention.

A hand grabbed his arm and he turned with relief to see Joseah, the one druid who he regarded as a real friend. "Come with me," he murmured quietly. "I'll explain what's going on."

The pair moved quickly through the camp and slipped inside the tent that Merlin had vacated only minutes ago. Joseah turned to him and began to speak quickly in a low voice. "One of the women was walking in the forest earlier in the day when they found a letter pinned to a tree. It is a summons, from Camelot, asking for your return," Joseah told him bluntly.

"What?" Merlin gasped, startled. Of all the things he might have expected, this was not one of them. "From Arthur?"

The druid nodded. "It was signed 'King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot'. Written in his own hand too. But there's more."

Merlin took a breath, still reeling from what he had just been told, and nodded. "Go on, tell me."

"The letter also said 'If Merlin of Ealdor is returned to Camelot safely, I, Arthur Pendragon, will pardon magic for all it has done to this land. I will accept that magic can be used as a force for good, and the laws shall be amended for my decision.'" Even hearing it second hand, Merlin still recognised the silent apology in the words.

"So, basically, if I go back to Camelot, Arthur is going to make magic legal." The warlock's voice shook slightly on the last words.

"Yes, by the sounds of it." Joseah's face was expressionless.

There was a long silence.

"I don't want to go back to Camelot." Merlin unconsciously fingered the small scar on his arm where Arthur had cut him on that fateful day, as he taken to doing whenever he thought of Camelot or the king.

"I know, Merlin." He could hear the effort it was taking the druid to keep his voice level. "But, just think… isn't this what you've been waiting for all these years? Isn't this your chance to finally start building Albion?"

Merlin swung away angrily. "I can't go back, Joseah! I just _can't_! You don't know what Arthur said to me that day." His voice trembled. "He said terrible, terrible things, things that I will never forget. And he meant every word of them. You don't know how that feels – to have someone you have trusted and protected for so many years of your life trying to kill you!"

Joseah paused. "He tried to kill you?" The two friends had never spoken of the day when Merlin had fled Camelot for his life.

"Yes," Merlin said bitterly.

Joseah bit his lip. "You're going to hate me for saying this, Merlin, but I think you should go back. You're going to have to make your peace with Arthur someday, and it seems like he's in a pretty good mood now – who knows what will happen if you _don't _go back. And we both know that it's useless trying to resist destiny."

"Don't I ever get a choice?" Merlin exploded. "Why does it have to be me with a destiny? Why couldn't I have just been a normal person living in Ealdor with my mother all my life?"

And then a deep voice answered that he knew all too well. "Because you have been chosen, Merlin."

The Great Dragon had come for him.

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><p><strong>AN: So, yes, Merlin will be coming back to Camelot… but who knows what will happen?**

**A while ago I read a brilliant fanfiction that started with Merlin and Gwaine talking about going on a hunting trip and Gwaine was helping Merlin clean Arthur's boots, and then it changed to Merlin's POV and he was in a castle and he'd managed to lose 3 weeks of his memory and in that time Arthur had hit him or something…. Yeah I know that sounds really confusing when I try and gather up everything I remember about it, but I cant for the life of me remember what it was called and I cant find it anywhere - please help me if you have any ideas! I really want to read it again!**

**Please leave a review. I had 8 pieces of homework tonight and I still managed to finish this for you. Don't I _deserve _some reviews? **


	13. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: And we're almost done… I would just like to thank everyone who has stayed with this story right until the very end. You have all given me so much support and encouragement and the fact that you liked reading this means more to me than I can say.**

**So thank you, and on with the chapter!**

**(just in case anyone was wondering, I found that fanfic I mentioned at the end of last chapter, it's called The Lost by Ultra-Geek :D)**

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><p>It was dusk. The gates of Camelot were closed to travellers. The guards were not there to see the dark-haired figure that raised his hand and whispered a few well-chosen words, causing the gates to swing silently open, and entered the city.<p>

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><p>The Knights of the Round Table had been surprised, to say the least, when Arthur had called them together to the council chambers. None of them had spoken to the king, except when it was completely unavoidable, since Merlin had been forced to flee the city. They all thought it was Arthur's fault, and they all knew that Arthur was refusing to take any of the blame. So they decided to avoid him whenever possible. But all the same, when they received the summons, they all agreed to go.<p>

On entering the room, the first thing that Lancelot noticed was the table in the middle of the room. Not the long, straight, council table. The _Round _Table. He stopped and stared for a moment, meeting Arthur's hopeful gaze with a wary frown. The king bowed his head, but not before the knight saw the fleeting expression that had crossed his face. Lancelot was confused – that couldn't have been _guilt_, could it?

But he had no time to think of that. The others were arriving. Lancelot was unsurprised to see Gaius and Gwen among them – after all, they belonged to the Round Table too. Like him, they all seemed startled to find the Table in the room.

Arthur got to his feet.

"I know that you all have every reason to be angry with me," he said quietly, his eyes lowered. "But come, sit with me, if you will. I only want to talk to you."

Gwaine and Lancelot looked at each other questioningly. Gwaine shook his head almost imperceptibly, his eyes still burning with anger at Arthur. Lancelot bit his lip, unsure what to do. Percival looked at Lancelot. Elyan looked at Gwen. Gwen looked at Gaius. And Gaius lifted his head ever so slightly, and sat down at the table beside Arthur. Leon was the next to move, then Gwen and Elyan, then Lancelot and Percival. Until there was only Gwaine left, standing by the door with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Have you forgotten what he did to Merlin?" he exploded. "Lancelot? You saw what our _king_ did! The others I could understand, but you! I thought Merlin was your _friend_!" Lancelot, who had stayed quiet throughout this outburst, leapt to his feet and glared furiously at the other knight. Gwaine unconsciously took a step back, realizing he had crossed some invisible line.

"_Do not_," Lancelot spoke quietly, his voice was filled with venom, "_do not _ever question my friendship with Merlin again. Merlin was my first true friend, and I have not forgotten what Arthur did. But you have become blinded by your anger, Gwaine. I never said that I had forgiven Arthur. I am only going to listen, and I think you should too." After a moments pause, Gwaine sheathed his sword and sat down, shamefaced.

"Well," Arthur began. "I suppose I… I didn't think you would come. But you have, so thank you." He looked round at each of them in turn. "I'm not going to ask you to forgive me. I don't want you to forgive me. I guess, really, I just… I just wanted to apologize." He took a deep breath. "I am sorry for what I did to Merlin. I'm sorry for the things I've said and how I've acted; I've really been – well, a prat." A few half-smiles flickered round the circle at Merlin's nickname for the king. "And there's something I need to tell you." He looked up, unsure of how they would react. "A few days ago, I sent a letter. To the druids."

Gwen looked puzzled. "What? Why?"

"I asked them to send Merlin back." There were a few gasps of shock.

Leon blinked. "I'm sorry, you did _what, _Sire?"

Arthur ploughed on ahead. "I asked them to send Merlin back – I knew he'd be there, where else would he go? - and I said that if he returned to Camelot, I would pardon magic and change the laws so that it isn't used on penalty of death. Or any punishment." This was greeted by a dead silence. Arthur looked around apprehensively. The silence dragged on and Arthur began to look more and more uncertain.

"Well, of all the things I thought you might say, that wasn't one of them," Elyan said at last, wide-eyed. A fleeting expression that could have been an attempt at a smile passed across Arthur's face.

Gwen laughed, a joyful, clear sound. How Arthur had missed her laugh and that smile. "I knew you would get there in the end," she whispered in his ear.

And suddenly they were all talking and laughing like the friends they had been before this whole incident, and they almost forgot the seat where Merlin should have been sat. Almost, but not quite. Arthur was not yet forgiven, and what he had done would never be forgotten, but the wounds were starting to heal.

* * *

><p>The figure walked quickly and quietly through the corridors. He knew his way too well for anyone to question him. He had seen them, laughing and happy, through the windows in the courtyard. They didn't need him. But Arthur had asked him to come; the druids had begged him to go; the dragon had forced him into it. So he was here.<p>

He rounded the corner and sent the guards to sleep with a golden flash of his eyes. And then he walked up to the door.

* * *

><p>The double doors of the council chambers were flung open with deliberate force. Silence cloaked the room as everyone stared at the intruder, who stepped slowly inside and somehow caused the doors to close behind him without touching them.<p>

Arthur stood up slowly. "Merlin?" he whispered uncertainly. For it was Merlin; his manservant; his friend; but he looked different. He stood taller, shoulders straight, eyes dark with a haze of jumbled emotions.

"You asked me to return. I am here," Merlin replied flatly. There was nothing in his voice to show that there had ever been anything more than the relationship of a servant and master between he and Arthur.

Arthur opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to change his mind, and then decided to say it anyway. "Merlin – I – I'm sorry for what I did," he stumbled over the words.

Merlin's face softened slightly and he looked more like the man Arthur remembered. "So am I," he said softly. "By saying that you have proved me wrong, Arthur – your father would never have apologised." He raised his hand and unconsciously rubbed his arm, where they both knew the scar from their last meeting lay. "But you should have trusted me, Arthur, you should have known that I would never hurt you or Camelot." His voice hardened again.

Arthur tried to shake off the feeling of unease that this new, different Merlin was causing in him. "I was wondering," he began cautiously. "How many times have you… you know… saved my life?"

To his astonishment, Merlin laughed. It wasn't a very nice laugh really; it was tense and humourless, but it was a laugh all the same. "Too many times to count, Arthur. I have been saving your life since I first came to Camelot."

Arthur frowned as he tried to call up the memories from all those years ago. "So… when we were fighting that first day, you used magic? I knew it!" He was glad to see a hint of a smile on Merlin's face.

"Yes, of course I used magic, you prat," he rolled his eyes. "You didn't think you'd suddenly got _that _clumsy just by accident, did you?"

"And when that witch threw a dagger at me and you pulled me out of the way? Was that magic?"

"Er…" Now it was Merlin's turn to screw up his face with the effort of remembering. "I can't remember. Maybe I slowed down time a bit…"

Arthur felt his jaw drop. "You can _do _that?"

Merlin stared at his boots and murmured something unintelligible under his breath.

"What was that, Merlin?" Arthur asked in his I'm-the-one-charge-round-here voice, and then winced as he realized how that must have sounded. It was just too easy to lapse back into old ways.

However, Merlin merely smirked half-heartedly. "I said, you could never understand the extent of the power of a creature of magic such as I, Arthur."

Arthur was beginning to feel slightly out of his depth and cast around desperately for something to say. "Well… er… tell me, then – I want to know every time you have saved my life or saved Camelot since you came here."

Merlin sighed. "That might take a while."

"Oh, come on Merlin, there can't be that many times! I'm not completely incapable of looking after myself!"

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked disbelievingly. "But anyway, as you wish… there was the time with the witch and the dagger but I've already said about that, then there was the whole thing with Valiant and his shield, and after that I stopped the plague and saved Gwen's father and Gwen, then I enchanted Lancelot's lance so he could kill the Griffin—"

"Wait!" Arthur spun round, staring at Lancelot. "You _knew? _You knew and you didn't tell me?"

Lancelot shrugged. "I could not betray Merlin after everything he had done for me."

Merlin took another deep breath and continued where he had left off. "…then I stopped Edwin from killing your father to take over Camelot, then I stopped Sophia from sacrificing you to the Sidhe, then I got Excalibur and you were supposed to use it to kill the Black Knight, but your father—"

"Wait!" Arthur cried again. Merlin raised his eyebrows with an exaggerated sigh. "What do you mean, you _got _Excalibur? This sword was stuck in stone until I pulled it out!"

The warlock rolled his eyes, the action so familiar that if he hadn't been feeling quite so uncertain about this whole situation, Arthur would have laughed. "You didn't really think that swords just _jump _into stones, did you? I put it in a lake after your father nicked it when you were meant to be the only one to use it and the dragon had a massive go at me, and then I used it against Morgause's immortal army - so yes, that was me too - and _then _I put it in the stone."

Arthur blinked. "The dragon?"

Merlin closed his eyes for a second, realizing he had slipped up. "Ah. Well. There is only one weapon that can kill something that is already dead – a blade—"

"—forged in the dragon's breath," said another voice. It was Percival. Merlin looked startled for the first time since he had returned.

"How did you know that?"

The big knight met his eyes, wary and curious at the same time. "Such a thing is heard of only in legend," he said by way of reply. "Morgana called you Emrys, Merlin… but you're not _that _Emrys, are you? Not the one who will…" he trailed away with a glance at Arthur.

Merlin nodded resignedly. "The one and only."

Percival's eyes widened. Not for the first time, Merlin wished he knew a little more about the man. As the knight grew quiet, Arthur broke in again.

"So… I think we've gathered that you've saved my life quite a few times—"

"Quite _a few _times!" Merlin exploded. Most of the people in the room flinched, including Arthur, but he did not lower his voice. "Even _I _don't know how many times I've save your life, but it's a lot more than a few, I can tell you! There was everything that happened in Ealdor, that was me, not Will, but he died to save me, I helped to stop Tauren killing your father even though it would have made my life much easier if he had died, then I went and tried to _sacrifice _myself when you were dying from the Questing Beast bite, but that completely failed and I nearly ended up killing my own mother instead, it was me who stopped Cornelius Sigan coming back and destroying this whole city, it was me who realized that Lady Catrina was a bloody troll and tried to tell you – but did you listen to me any of those times? No! It was me who tried to save – to save Freya and – you went and stabbed her!" Merlin was horrified to find tears in his eyes and brushed them away angrily. Voice shaking slightly, he continued in a low voice. "It was all _me, _Arthur. Can't you see? I have given everything for you. Everything. So please – don't ever say that I have only saved you and this city a _few _times, because it's not true." He turned to stare unseeingly out of the window.

Arthur stared at him, wide-eyed and shocked, reeling from the amount of information that had just been thrust at him. He tried to fumble through it in his head, wondering when his unruly manservant had turned into an all-powerful sorcerer who seemed to enjoy exercising his voice. A lot. "What – what do you mean, I stabbed someone? Fr – Freya , was it? I don't remember that…"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"And you tried to sacrifice your life for mine? Why?"

"I don't really want to talk about that either."

"Well," Arthur cleared his throat, longing for the times when his relationship with Merlin had been simple and easy. Not like this. "I suppose, then… Thank you. For everything. And… and since I can see you're alright, you can – you can just go, if you want. You don't have to stay." Arthur turned and walked towards the back door of the council chambers, so that no one wouldn't see how much those words had hurt to say.

"Arthur." There was a smile in Merlin's voice. Arthur stopped and looked back. "I told you once before, Arthur Pendragon, that I was happy to be your servant until the day I died."

And Arthur finally dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright in the end.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: But it's not quite over yet… one more chapter to go! Please, please leave a review! It only takes a minute and it makes me sad when I get hardly any reviews for my writing :( **


	14. Author's Note

**A/N: I'm sorry but this is not the epilogue – I just wanted to apologize to you all because I haven't finished it and I am going on holiday for 2 weeks where I will not be able to get online, so I can't update.**

**I will be writing though, so hopefully the update will be in roughly two weeks time. I'm really sorry that there will be such a wait – I just wanted to warn you all and to promise that the epilogue is coming, I haven't abandoned it!**

**Sorry again :(**

**wildchild17**


	15. Epilogue

**A/N: So, the final part… this is just a few slightly random little snippets about a few different characters, just to tie up some loose ends and finish it off really :D can't believe it's actually nearly done…**

**I am aware that it is _slightly _longer than I intended it to be… like, about 3000 words longer than I intended it to be… I'm really sorry if you get bored. I kinda got carried away.**

**So here is the epilogue of The Secret Princess, and I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

* * *

><p><em>Arthur and Faye<em>

Arthur had been looking for Guinevere since breakfast and had been unable to find her anywhere. It really was _extremely _frustrating – how could she just disappear like this? He had already been to their shared chambers several times (after Arthur and Merlin had made their peace, Guinevere had returned to spending her nights with Arthur) and she was nowhere to be found. It seemed that nobody had seen her all day; not the servants; not Amhar or Clara; not even Merlin, whom Arthur had thought might have been catching up with his wife. Although he had looked a bit shifty… But the fact remained that Guinevere had apparently completely disappeared.

Arthur was not allowing himself to worry, not yet. After all, as he was repeatedly reminding himself, she had only been gone since the morning, and the whole castle hadn't even been searched yet.

He hurried down the corridor, doing his best to look like he _wasn't _feeling _at all _stressed, and looked up just in time to see the corner of a deep crimson cloak flick round the corner.

"Guinevere!" he called out in relief. There was a gasp and the sound of running footsteps. Arthur frowned. "Gwen?"

He rounded the corner to see a very familiar cloak streaming out as its wearer tried to escape quickly down the passageway. Arthur resisted the urge to smack his hand into his forehead. _Of course! Since when does Guinevere wear a cloak like that? _"Wait! Is that… Faye?" The figure slowed and turned. The young woman's beautiful face was worried, her long dark hair lying loosely over her shoulders.

"My lord – I'm really sorry – I just—" she stumbled over the words, trying to explain herself. Arthur held up a hand, shaking his head.

"Don't. I've had enough people apologising to me recently. I don't know why – or how on earth – you managed to stay in Camelot, although I can guess it probably had something to do with Guinevere." He suppressed a smile at the thought of his iron-willed wife harbouring a sorceress. "I don't know how much she has told you, but in two days time, I am going to make an announcement. I would… I would like you to be there, if you will. And you should resume your duties as Guinevere's maidservant, if you haven't already."

Faye looked startled and decidedly wary at Arthur's friendly tone. "My lord, I… you must know that I have… I have magic. I am a sorceress. Morgana is – was my mother." Pain flashed across her face at the last few words, and Arthur felt a surge of sadness for her as he remembered how he had felt after his own father's death.

"I know you have magic," he said seriously. "But I have learnt many things about magic and sorcery in the last few weeks and I am not going to judge you simply because of something that you had no choice over." He felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, one that he had not even realized he had been carrying. He chuckled at Faye's shocked and delighted expression. The girl reached up and hesitantly touched his cheek.

"Destiny was right," she whispered. "You are indeed a great king, uncle." The last word rolled strangely off her tongue, but it felt right to say it. A surprised but pleased smiled spread across Arthur's face and they gazed at each other for a few seconds more, sharing the first moment when they truly regarded each other as uncle and niece instead of King and sorceress.

In the end it was Arthur who broke the silence. "Now, I don't suppose you have any idea where Guinevere is, do you?"

Faye smiled apologetically and pointed up the passageway. "She's in her private chambers, where I've been staying. Merlin's there too. She isn't angry with you again, you know, we've just been planning how – well. We were planning how to get me out of the castle without anybody realizing who I was."

Arthur laughed. "Surely you could just, I don't know, teleport yourself into the forest or something?"

"Yes, I suppose I could, but we were trying to think of some way to do it without incriminating me. And apparently Merlin has put some wards around the main part of the castle to stop anyone doing that."

"Then how come you managed do to it in the battle?"

"The wards don't cover the courtyard. They would require too much energy from Merlin to maintain constantly."

Arthur was feeling slightly out of his comfort zone and it must have shown on his face, because Faye grinned and started down the corridor towards Gwen's chambers. "Never mind, come on. I want to tell Gwen what you just told me."

Arthur smiled and followed her, feeling happier than he had in what seemed like a long time.

* * *

><p><em>The announcement<em>

Everyone in Camelot had been talking about it for days. The servants had first heard the rumour, and they had passed it on to their friends and families. The knights knew because one of the young ones had overheard his servant talking about it, and he had told the others. The nobles had demanded the knights to tell them what was going on, so that was how they had found out.

But amongst it all, for some reason, nobody had thought to ask King Arthur what the truth was. Even if they had, he probably wouldn't have told them. Nobody seemed to realize that the most important knights, nobles and servants – i.e. The Knights of the Round Table, Queen Guinevere, Gaius, and Merlin – already knew what was going on. They all knew the truth. But of course, no one asked them, so they said nothing, and let the rumours run riot.

But at last, today was the day. If the rumours were true, as people whispered to each other, sending hopeful glances up at the beautiful white castle, if the rumours were true, then perhaps Arthur would be a different man from his father after all. Perhaps now things would change.

Arthur, in fact, was feeling rather nervous about the whole thing. He knew that he would have to repeal the ban on magic eventually; he had known since the moment when Merlin had returned to Camelot just a few weeks ago. The king gazed down at his best friend's straggly dark hair as he crouched to do Arthur's bootlaces for him, feeling immensely glad that Merlin was back. The younger man straightened up and grinned at Arthur.  
>"Ready?"<br>"As I'll ever be."  
>The warlock's blue eyes were soft as he cocked his head to the side slightly, still looking at Arthur. "You're doing the right thing, you know. You've already decided that magic isn't all bad, and maybe this is what people need just to lift them up a bit and rebuild this city after Morgana's attack." Arthur nodded half-heartedly. Merlin nudged him slightly. "Go on, get out there. Show them who you really are. They're all waiting - the rumours have been going crazy round the town!"<br>"How do you know?"  
>Merlin just smiled and pushed him towards the balcony. So Arthur shook his head, wondering if the day would ever come when he knew everything about Merlin, and stepped out to speak to his people.<p>

It appeared that every single person in the city had come to hear what he had to say. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gwen smiling and Faye looking extremely confused. His lips twitched - clearly, she hadn't been told what was going on. Clara and Amhar were there too, and his closest knights and friends on his other side. He sensed Merlin's comforting presence at his side.  
>"People of Camelot," he cried, voice echoing through the courtyard. "I am sure that many of you are wondering why I have called you all here today, and you will soon find out." He paused, letting his words sink in. 'Dramatic effect', his father had called it. "The subject, my people, is magic." Now that got a bit of a reaction - he had to hold back a smile as the noise in the gathering of people soared, everyone muttering and chattering in astonishment. Arthur raised his voice over the noise. "You all know that Morgana, who invaded our city just a few weeks ago, was a witch - an enchantress, a magic-user." Silence fell again, hundreds of eyes on him. "While I cannot possible forgive nor forget what she did to all of you; to me, to our families and friends, to our homes and our lives; I have brought you here today to acknowledge that magic is not always used for evil. I have brought you here so that every person living in the city of Camelot will know, whether they be man, woman or child, that magic and its use for good purposes is not forbidden in his kingdom." And there it was. He had said it. Arthur blew a breath out he hadn't even realised he'd been holding. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Merlin's mile-wide grin and Faye's mouth hanging open in delighted shock. Down below him in the courtyard, the same sorts of reactions were occurring. At first a dead silence fell like a heavy blanket, smothering all sound and movement alike. Then there was an explosion of laughter from one corner.<p>

"You are your father's son, Arthur Pendragon!" bellowed a burly man with a black beard and hair that appeared to cover most of his face. "You have a hard heart and a cruel mind, and your words are nothing more than sugar-coated lies!"  
>Merlin could see Arthur was about to blow, furious at the way this man was treating his king. He stepped forward and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder.<p>

"Let me deal with this one," he muttered. Arthur swallowed his anger and moved back; Guinevere's small hand slipped comfortingly into his. He had begun to learn to let Merlin have his way when he went into 'wise mode'.

"I think many of you already know me," Merlin spoke clearly, his gentle voice resounding through the courtyard. He was right - just about everybody knew Merlin. "But for those of you who don't, I will tell you now. My name is Merlin and I am King Arthur's manservant." He glanced back at Arthur, holding his gaze for just a second. "I am also his friend. I have known your king for a very long time, since we were both barely men, and I can assure _you_," his eyes searched the crowds for the man who had dared to laugh, "_you_, the one who spoke out against your king and your kingdom, your country and the Pendragon family, _you_ do not know King Arthur. If you truly knew him, you would never have laughed. For this man is noble and proud; he has the kind heart of a loving father and the bravery of an undefeated warrior. He is strong and just and he is the King that the world has been waiting for." His eyes seemed to harden then, his back straighten, his body grow older and wiser beyond his years. Arthur knew he was seeing the true Merlin, the man who could wield more power than Arthur would ever understand or know. "I have seen the legends," Merlin went on, his voice swelling with power. "I have heard the prophecies. I have spoken with the Great Dragon and I have entered the crystal cave. I tell you, do not laugh. Arthur Pendragon is the king this land has waited for - he is the Once and Future King of all Albion, and his name will be remembered until the end of time. Remember these things I have said, for I will not tell you them again." He seemed to relax slightly now he had finished. But it seemed the black-haired man who had laughed was not quite finished yet.

"Those are fine words, Merlin," he growled, evidently having lost some of his steam but was still unprepared to let the other man win. "But I ask you this: how do you, of all people, a servant from the village of Ealdor, know so much on the subject of the Once and Future King? It is no special thing to have heard the legends and the prophecies, for we have all heard them, and as for the crystal cave and the dragon... Can you prove that you have been there? Prove to us how you know these things! Show us your secrets!" By the end of his little speech he had gained back some of his vigour. Merlin was silent, staring down with blue eyes that saw everything.  
>"Are you sure?" he asked quietly. "Do you really want to know who I am? I can prove the truth of my words, but you may regret knowing. Think carefully on your answer."<p>

The people seemed to shrink back from him fearfully, but the black-beard shouted out, "I am not afraid of you! What power can you possibly have that I do not? Show me the truth!"

Arthur could see the sadness in Merlin's face. "You are a brave man, and for this reason I will show you who I am." He took a breath and Arthur stepped back involuntarily. "You say you have heard the legends!" he cried, his voice growing deeper and older suddenly. "You think you know the prophecies! Then let me tell you who I am - Merlin of Ealdor is one face of mine, but I have a druid name too. They call me by the name Emrys." The courtyard exploded with noise again, shocked and fearful voices chattering like small children. Merlin abruptly seemed to shrink back to his usual self, the power in his voice fading away. "Please don't be afraid of me. I would never hurt any of you nor any of this family here." He spread his arms to include everyone on the balcony. "Yes, the things you hear in the stories are true, yes, I do have more power in magic than any other who has ever or will ever live - but I am also still Merlin, your friend and your servant. I have, still do and always will protect this city from those who wish to harm it. You know who I am now, but don't let this make you think differently of me - I only ask that you treat Arthur as your king, because that is who he is." At last, Merlin stepped back, his shoulders sagging at the expressions of nervousness and uncertainty that the people now directed at him. Arthur took his place at the front of the balcony again.

"So, by the power vested in me, I declare that magic used for good purposes, that do not harm anyone, is now legal within this kingdom."

He bowed his head to them and walked inside feeling a lot better than he had when he had come out.

* * *

><p><em>Arthur and Gwaine<em>

Arthur stepped out of Gaius' chambers rolling his left shoulder and grimacing slightly at the resulting ache. It wasn't a serious wound; more of a scratch than anything else; but according to the physician it still needed checking up on.  
>So Arthur wasn't really concentrating when an armour-clad figure leapt out of the shadows of the corridor and shoved him against the wall.<br>"Argh!" the king yelled his head bashed painfully against the stone wall.  
>"No one's going to come, you know, so you might as well stop making so much noise," said a familiar voice.<br>Arthur's eyes widened. "_Gwaine?_ What the hell are you doing?"  
>"I just wanted to remind you of something, Arthur," the knight growled.<br>"Was it really necessary to jump me like that? You could have just come and spoken to me, like any normal person would."  
>A dark chuckle. "Yeah, but where's the fun in that? Anyway, there's something you should know. Everything's fine now, Merlin's back, he's safe, nothing bad happened while he was gone. But I heard the things you said to him, Arthur. I know what you did and I know what you were about to do. So I'm just warning you. Merlin was my friend before I was your knight, Arthur, and if you ever hurt him like you did that night again..." he let the threat hang in the air for a moment, "I will kill you myself. And yes, that's a promise. He may have forgiven you, but I'm not about to forget. Just so you know." Gwaine's dark eyes held Arthur's for a second or two, and then he walked away without looking back.<p>

_If you hurt him again, I will kill you._

Somehow, Arthur didn't doubt that he would.

* * *

><p><em>Merlin and Joseah, a week later<em>

On arriving at the druid camp, Merlin had come to expect the flurry of bows and 'Welcome, Emrys's from the people there, but it still made him uncomfortable. He nodded and smiled in reply and escaped as fast as he could to Joseah's tent. He had been there so often in the last couple of weeks that he probably could have walked there in his sleep.  
>Merlin knocked against the tent pole and at the gruff 'Come in' that he got in reply, entered.<br>"Merlin!" Joseah cried, jumping to his feet. "I haven't heard from you for weeks! After you left - Well, everything's been a bit crazy round here. Everyone keeps coming to me to find out if there's any news - it's been driving me crazy!" He grinned and clapped Merlin on the shoulder. "I know a little of course, the Elders worked a few things out, but..."  
>Merlin's smile was wide. "I've missed you too," he chuckled. "After I got back, Arthur and the others were all in the council chambers, I think Arthur was going to apologise to them for...for what he did to me." His smile faded abruptly, the memories clouding his eyes, and the silence stretched out uncertainly. "Anyway, me and Arthur are okay again," he said at last. "Things'll never be how they were, but we're okay." He gave his friend a small smile which Joseah returned.<br>"Well, um... What happened with the whole... You know, making magic legal thing?"  
>"Oh! The announcement was just last week," Merlin said, as though he'd forgotten all about it. "You didn't think I would have stayed away so long if Arthur hadn't kept his side of the bargain, did you?" He grinned and shook his head quickly. "But that's not why I came. Remember, when we first met... You were acting all shifty and I didn't know why? Well, I hadn't really thought until now, but the Elders said something about Morgana and one of the druids and that just made me think..."<br>Joseah swallowed noticeably. "So you know what I did, then?" he asked, voice trembling slightly.  
>"I'm not angry with you, if that's what you're worried about," Merlin assured him. "So, it - it was you, then, I suppose?"<br>Joseah turned away, throwing his hands up. "I couldn't seem to help myself!" he cried. "She was just _there_, in the forest near the camp, and she was crying and injured and..."  
>Merlin touched his shoulder gently. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me. But if it helps, I did a bit of research and apparently when two people with magic are in the right frame of mind for..." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, well when that happens their magic kind of draws them together. It sort of takes control."<br>"How regularly is this supposed to happen?"  
>"I think it said it's pretty likely to happen with anyone, unless they really hate each other or something."<br>Joseah sighed in relief. "So it wasn't just me after all. The Elders went mad when they realised what I'd done, but there wasn't much they could do by then." He chuckled weakly.  
>Merlin bit his lip. "That wasn't actually what I wanted to talk to you about, either."<br>His friend groaned and rolled his eyes jokingly. "Come on, spit it out then. Don't keep me in suspense or anything!"  
>Merlin sighed. "It's about your daughter. Faye. She as good as won the battle with Morgana for us - she was the secret weapon but at the last minute she backed out and fought for us instead. Only thing is, everyone in Camelot knows she's the daughter of the witch who half destroyed their city."<br>Joseah frowned uncertainly. "I had heard there was a girl... But I never thought... How old is she?"  
>"Eighteen, nearly nineteen, I think."<br>Joseah's eyes widened slightly. "Wow. She... She was with Morgana all those years?"  
>Merlin nodded grimly. "Faye needs to learn how to use her magic for good. She's hardly seen the way the druids use it - or even how I use it... She needs you, Joseah. She needs her father."<br>Joseah was quiet for a minute or two. And then: "Merlin, I don't know the first thing about raising a child."  
>"Neither do I, but she's not a child any more. You won't have to raise her, just teach her about magic and how to live in peace with the people and the forest. And you can use magic freely now," Merlin pressed hopefully. Joseah looked even more worried. "Come on, she's your daughter! You can't just leave her!"<br>"She was a mistake, Merlin," Joseah snapped. "The result of weakness on my part and powerful magic that no one can control."  
>Merlin had a strange expression on his face. "Maybe. But she is still here, Joseah, she's grown up with her mother and made friends with her mother's enemies; she's had to betray Morgana to save her friends and in doing so nearly got killed herself. Faye is a brave, beautiful young woman who's just got dealt a bad lot in life and it's your job to help her." Merlin's gaze was clear and strong as he met Joseah's eyes for a moment, then turned and walked away.<p>

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><p><em>Faye and Merlin, about a week and a half later<em>

Merlin knocked quietly on the door to the house that had once belonged to the queen. He sighed heavily. Walking down the street, he had seen the looks people were giving him, he had seen how they moved away from him and ushered their children inside when he passed. It made him sad - many of them had once been his friends. But he had known that the moment had come to reveal who he was to everyone since he had told Arthur. They had a right to know, and it wasn't their fault that they had been raised into an age where magic was forbidden and used only on pain of death. He turned round again as he heard the door open.  
>"Merlin!" Faye smiled. "Come in, I haven't seen you in ages, how are you?"<br>"I'm fine," he replied, stepping inside and looking around. "It looks great in here, you've really cleared it up." He had only entered the house once after Morgana had been killed (he still couldn't quite bring himself to think that he had killed her) and it was in a terrible state then. It had been dark and gloomy, with the windows blocked and dust everywhere, smelling of damp and mould. The air had been so heavy with dark magic that Merlin had been fighting the urge to run out of the place every moment he was in there.  
>"Thanks," Faye grinned. "I've done my best with what I've got. Gwen and Clara pitched in to help too, even Arthur came down when he had a spare hour or two." She waved a hand around at the bright curtains and flowers decorating the room. "A lot of this stuff came from up at the castle."<br>"That's great," Merlin nodded. There was a long pause.  
>"So, um, did you want anything in particular?" Faye asked uncertainly.<br>Merlin turned to look at her. "Faye, do you want to stay here?"  
>She blinked. "Of course I want to stay. I mean, where would I go?"<br>"What if there was somewhere you could go? A place where you could live freely without being judged for who your mother was?"  
>Faye narrowed her green eyes at him. "If there was a place like that, then... Then I think I would go. But there isn't, so don't tempt me, Merlin."<br>He gave her a secretive smile. "But there is. Haven't you ever wondered who your father is, Faye?"  
>She stared at him wide-eyed. That was something she hadn't expected. "My...my father?" she whispered, finding her voice at last. "You know my father?"<br>Merlin's grin widened. "His name is Joseah. He is a druid living in the camp in the forest a few miles from Camelot."  
>A smile began to grow on her lips. "A druid? He has magic?"<br>"Yes."  
>"How long have you known?"<br>"I had my suspicions for many years, since I first met Joseah, but he only told me the truth last week," Merlin grinned. "You'll go, then? Not that I want to get rid of you, obviously! But I hate to see people looking so scared of you, walking on the other side of the street when they see you. You don't deserve that."  
>Faye raised her eyebrows. "They do that to you too, Merlin," she pointed out.<br>He laughed. "It doesn't matter. They'll get used to me again, and I can't leave Arthur anyway."  
>"He still doesn't realise how much you've done for him, does he?" she frowned, troubled.<br>"It doesn't matter," Merlin repeated. "Do you want to go to the druids? If you do I'll take you as soon as possible, once you've sorted everything out here."  
>Faye sighed. "I... I want to go. But I will be able to come back and see you all, won't I? Especially Clara and Gwen."<br>"Of course you will," Merlin grinned. "I think there's going to be a lot more druids in Camelot in a few years tome anyway. This is the beginning, Faye, the beginning of a new age."

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><p><em>Afterwards<em>

As it turned out, Merlin was right. By the time three years had passed since the great battle, magic was used much more freely throughout Camelot. There were a few at first who tried to make out that Arthur was a liar trying to trap them into doing magic so he could kill them, but these instances grew few and far between. The druids often passed through the city to collect supplies and to visit friends, and Faye and Joseah returned regularly to see their family and friends at the white castle.

Clara and Amhar both grew up into fine warriors, although Clara grew distinctly less fond of armour as she got older. Arthur assured them that they would give his blessing whoever they chose to marry, whether they be commoner or royalty, for love or to bring peace. Amhar fell for a princess of a neighbouring kingdom on a royal visit, and he was married to her in the spring of the year he turned twenty. Clara did not marry for many years, but she finally found a young man, from the village of Ealdor as it happened, and Arthur was as happy for her to marry him as he had been for Amhar to marry a princess.

Arthur ruled for many years as a fair and just king, with Merlin by his side every day. He continually tried to bully Merlin into taking a promotion, but the warlock always adamantly refused, insisting that he would be Arthur's servant until the day he died. The kingdom of Albion grew in peace and prosperity, and was rarely threatened the land again. It was a great and happy place under the Pendragon rule, the only kingdom where those magical and non-magical alike could truly live in harmony, and it was never forgotten in all the years after its time was over.

And when the day came that it was time for Merlin and Arthur to leave this world, for they were both old and wise men by that time, they went together and in happiness to Avalon, and Merlin finally was reunited with his Freya forevermore.

_**~The End~**_

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><p><strong>AN: So, that's it! It's over *sob sob* :P**

**Thank you to everyone who read this story, reviewed, story alerted or favourited it – you have all been fantastic and it was worth writing it for you!**

**And a final HUGE thank you to my brilliant beta _nibby9_! I couldn't have done it without you!**

_**wildchild17**_


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